Introduction: Glucocorticoids are prescribed for a diverse list of health conditions owing to their potent anti- inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. However, their use especially in long-term and/or high dose regimens has been associated with adverse effects on different body organs including male reproductive system. Prostate is an important accessory gland and has a major role in male reproduction. Glucocorticoid receptors are present in prostate gland and it has been shown that chronic glucocorticoid use increases the risk of advanced prostate cancer. To our knowledge, studies on the plausible effects of short-term high-dose glucocorticoids on this gland are scarce. The present study evaluates the effect of a high dose of dexamethasone administered for a week on prostate histological and functional aspects in rats.
Methods: Sixteen adult male Wistar rats with a mean body weight of about 180 g were randomly allocated to two equal groups (n=8 each) after a week of adaptation period. Control rats received no drug while rats in treatment group received 7 mg/kg/day dexamethasone phosphate for 7 consecutive days. At the end of the experiment, rats were euthanized and ventral lobe of prostate was immediately removed. Part of the gland was homogenized to assay citrate and Zn content while the rest was used for preparation of histologic slides stained with hematoxylin-eosin for determination of histomorphometric parameters.
Results: Administration of dexamethasone resulted in significant decrease of citrate concentration in prostate tissue as compared to control rats (p<0.05) while the concentration of Zn was statistically similar between two groups (p>0.05). Acinar cell/tubular cell ratio also showed a significant decrease in treatment group as compared to control (p<0.05). Tubular diameter, acinar diameter and acinar epithelium thickness showed no significant difference between two groups.
Conclusion: Administration of dexamethasone at high doses even for a relatively short period of time adversely affects selected histological and functional parameters of prostate gland in normal rats. These findings encourage future studies to elucidate the effects of short-term high dose glucocorticoids on the health and function of male reproductive system.
Keywords: Glucocorticoid, Prostate, Histology, Citrate, Rat