Effects of cisplatin on testicular functions in rats.

In adult male rats serum levels of FSH, LH and testosterone were determined following treatment with cisplatin [cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II)] for 3 alternate days, in order to study the effects of cisplatin on pituitary-testicular axis and subsequent effects on spermatogenesis. The decreased levels of testosterone with elevated FSH and LH levels in CDDP-treated rats are indicative of intact pituitary-testicular axis. The quantitation of spermatogenesis by flow cytometric analysis revealed that various germ cell populations and kinetics of spermatogenesis remain unchanged in CDDP-treated rats. Thus, CDDP treatment has been shown to decrease testosterone production in the testis without affecting the functional status of spermatogenic compartment.

Renal beta-glucuronidase activity is a bioassay of serum testosterone levels in rats.

Alteration in the testosterone levels in experimental animals is reflected by a corresponding change in kidney beta-glucuronidase activity. With a view to use change in renal beta-glucuronidase activity as a bioassay of androgens, the activity of renal beta-glucuronidase and serum testosterone levels were determined following treatment with cisplatin for 3 alternate days. Levels of both renal beta-glucuronidase activity and serum testosterone were significantly decreased in cisplatin-treated rats. It is therefore suggested that kidney beta-glucuronidase activity can be used as a bioassay of androgens.

Testosterone propionate prevents cisplatin induced inhibition of renal beta-glucuronidase activity in rats.

The activities of lysosomal enzymes in the kidney of rats (100 and 30 days old) were studied following treatment with cisplatin and cisplatin with testosterone propionate for 2 alternate days. The decreased activity of renal beta-glucuronidase during cisplatin treatment reflected the decreased availability of testosterone, while activity was increased in the rats supplemented with testosterone. The decreased alkaline phosphatase activity in all the experimental groups may be due to the inhibition of cellular processes exerted by cisplatin acting directly on the brush border membrane of kidney.

Effect of cisplatin on physiological status of normal rat testis.

Effects of cisplatin with or without testosterone on the physiology of normal adult rats were studied. The weights of epididymis, seminal vesicles and ventral prostate showed the decreased level of testosterone in cisplatin-treated rats. There was no change in DNA, RNA and protein contents in both cisplatin and cisplatin-testosterone treated animals. Hence it is suggested that the administration of cisplatin does not inhibit DNA, RNA and protein synthesis in the testis of normal rats. It could be due to either the normal cells are able to oppose the cross links formation or their removal at faster rate than in tumor cells by repair mechanisms or proteins which the tumor cells lack.