The non-aromatizable androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT) facilitates sexual behavior in ovariectomized female rats primed with estradiol

PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

卷:115

Article

Maseroli, Elisa^1,2  Santangelo, Andrea^3,4  Lara-Fontes, Beatriz^2,5  Quintana, Gonzalo Renato²  Mac Cionnaith, Conall E.²  Casarrubea, Maurizio⁴  Ricca, Valdo³  Maggi, Mario^6,7  Vignozzi, Linda^1,7  Pfaus, James G.^2,5 

[1] Univ Florence, Dept Expt & Clin Biomed Sci Mario Serio, Androl Womens Endocrinol & Gender Incongruence Un, Viale Pieraccini 6, I-50139 Florence, Italy

[2] Concordia Univ, Ctr Studies Behav Neurobiol, Dept Psychol, Montreal, PQ H4B 1R6, Canada

[3] Univ Florence, Psychiat Unit, Dept Hlth Sci, Florence, Italy

[4] Human Physiol Sect Giuseppe Pagano, Dept Biomed Neurosci & Adv Diagnost BiND, Corso Tukory 129, I-90134 Palermo, Italy

[5] Univ Veracruzana, Ctr Invest Cerebrales, Xalapa 91193, Veracruz, Mexico

[6] Univ Florence, Dept Expt & Clin Biomed Sci Mario Serio, Endocrinol Unit, Viale Pieraccini 6, I-50139 Florence, Italy

[7] Biostruct & Biosyst Natl Inst, INBB, Viale Medaglie dOro 305, I-00136 Rome, Italy

关键词: Dihydrotestosterone;    Estradiol;    Solicitation;    Rat;    Sexual desire;    Preclinical;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104606

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

It is still unclear whether Testosterone (T) increases sexual desire through a stimulation of the androgen receptor in relevant brain regions or through its conversion to estrogens. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanisms of T facilitation of female sexual desire by assessing the effect of a non-aromatizable androgen (Dihydrotestosterone, DHT) in a validated animal model. Ovariectomized (OVX) Long-Evans rats were treated with oil (O) + O, 10 mcg Estradiol Benzoate (EB) + O, 10 mcg EB + 500 mcg Progesterone (P), O + 500 mcg DHT or 10 mcg EB + 500 mcg DHT (n = 12 per group). EB was administered 48 h, while P and DHT 4 h, prior to 4 sexual behavioral testing sessions in bisected unilevel pacing chambers. Appetitive behaviors (the frequencies of hops/darts and solicitations) were considered as the main outcome measure. Sexual receptivity indexes [lordosis magnitude, expressed as lordosis rating (LR), and lordosis quotient (LQ)], rejection responses, as well as mounts, intromissions and ejaculations received from the male were also coded. The probability of transition among sexual behaviors was evaluated by Transition Matrices; T-Pattern analysis was performed to detect hidden repeated temporal behavioral sequences. Preliminary analyses found no statistically significant differences between the O+ O and EB + O groups, therefore we excluded the EB + O group from further analyses. Rats treated with EB + DHT displayed significantly more appetitive behaviors compared to negative controls (O + O and O + DHT), whereas no difference was observed between EB + DHT rats and positive controls (EB + P); noteworthy, a higher number of appetitive behaviors was observed in the O + DHT group compared to the O + O group. Furthermore, rats treated with EB + DHT showed significantly higher receptivity measures (LR and LQ) and received more mounts, intromissions and ejaculations compared to negative controls (O+ O and O + DHT), to levels equivalent to EB + P. No differences were detected in female-male mounts or rejection responses among the 4 groups. Under a qualitative perspective, full solicitation was found exclusively in T-patterns of the EB + DHT group, which was also the only one to display T-patterns of higher order encompassing appetitive behaviors-only events. In conclusion, the administration of DHT in EB-primed OVX Long-Evans rats enhances sexual behavior measures. Specifically, DHT seems to stimulate sequences of appetitive behaviors separated from copulative/reproductive measures. Our data support an independent role of androgens in the facilitation of female sexual desire.

【 授权许可】

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