The effect of environment on the serum concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol and testosterone / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate any effect of different environments on the levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and testosterone using SAMP8 senescence-accelerated mice.Methods:Thirty SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into an enriched environment (EE) group, an impoverished environment (IE) group and a standard environment (SE) group, each of 10. The serum levels of ACTH, cortisol and testosterone were measured in all of the mice after they had lived in their respective environments for 8 weeks.Results:The average ACTH concentrations of the IE, EE and SE groups were (60.54±16.22), (48.98±15.30) and (28.49±8.24)pg/ml respectively. The average cortisol concentrations were (5.37±0.81), (4.09±0.92) and (3.19±0.88)ng/ml. The average testosterone concentrations being (2.35±0.90), (7.07±1.57) and (3.16±1.10)ng/ml. The average ACTH and cortisol levels were significantly different between the SE and IE groups. The average ACTH and testosterone levels differed significantly between the SE and EE groups and between the EE and IE groups.Conclusions:An impoverished environment can increase the secretion of ACTH and cortisol and activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, at least in SAMP8 mice. An enriched environment can promote the secretion of ACTH and testosterone, but not that of cortisol.