The affinity of procymidone to androgen receptor in rats and mice

To clarify the mechanism of gonadotropin imbalances and the differential response of rat and mouse testicular interstitial cells (Leydig cells) to procymidone, N-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-1,2-dimethylcyclopropane-1,2-dicarboximi de, male Sprague-Dawley rats and ICR mice were fed procymidone in diet for 2 weeks at 0, 700, 2,000 and 6,000 ppm for rats, or 0, 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 ppm for mice. Testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in serum, testis or pituitary and the in vitro binding affinities of procymidone, flutamide and related compounds to the androgen receptor in prostate cytosol of rats and mice were examined. Hypergonadotropism in rats and mice was clearly observed in the same order two weeks after the initiation of treatment with procymidone. Increased levels of testosterone and LH in serum at 6,000 ppm and LH in pituitary at and above 700 ppm in rats were observed. In mice, testosterone levels in serum and testis elevated at 10,000 ppm. LH levels in serum and pituitary elevated significantly as well at around 5,000 to 10,000 ppm. In the competitive binding assay, procymidone showed a significant but lower binding affinity comparing to that of cyproterone acetate, the steroidal androgen receptor antagonist, for the androgen receptor in both rats and mice under the condition that unlabeled dihydrotestosterone (DHT) effectively inhibited the binding of [3H]-DHT to the androgen receptor in both species. The relative binding affinity (RBA) of procymidone was of the same order as that of flutamide, a synthetic non-steroidal antiandrogen structurally similar to procymidone. These results indicate that procymidone is an active antiandrogen and the androgen receptor antagonism is the likely mechanism of action.