Authors: Fontana, Karina; Oliveira, Helena Coutinho Franco¹; Leonardo, Marta Beatriz²; Mandarim-de-Lacerda, Carlos Alberto³; da Cruz-Höfling, Maria Alice²

Source: International Journal of Experimental Pathology, Volume 89, Number 5, October 2008 , pp. 358-366(9)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

Summary

Abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) for improving physical performance is associated with serious, sometimes fatal, adverse effects. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effects of AAS on the cardiac structure and the plasma lipoprotein profile isolated and in combination with exercise. Transgenic mice with a human lipaemic phenotype (expressing cholesteryl ester transfer protein on the LDL receptor knockout background) were used in this study. Sedentary and exercised mice (treadmill running, five times per week for 6 weeks) were treated with mesterolone (2 μg/g body weight) or vehicle (control-C) in the last 3 weeks. Four groups were compared: (i) exercise + mesterolone (Ex-M), (ii) exercise + vehicle (Ex-C), (iii) sedentary + mesterolone (Sed-M) and (iv) sedentary + vehicle (Sed-C). Arterial blood pressure and body mass increased in all groups along time, but Sed-M reached the highest values and Ex-C the lowest. Treatment with mesterolone increased total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and very LDL-c (VLDL-c) plasma levels. However, exercise blunted some of these deleterious effects by increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and decreasing LDL-c, VLDL-c and triglycerides. Exercise training induced beneficial effects, such as physiological cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, increase in myocardial circulation and decrease in cardiac interstitium. However, mesterolone impaired such physiological gains and in addition increased troponin T plasma levels both in sedentary and exercised mice. Thus, while mesterolone induced pro-atherogenic lipoprotein profile and pathogenic cardiac hypertrophy, exercise counteracted these effects and modified favourably both the lipoprotein profile and the cardiac remodelling induced by mesterolone.

Keywords: cardiac interstitium; cardiomyocytes; lipid profile; mesterolone; transgenic murine model; ventricular hypertrophy

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2613.2008.00601.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil 2: Department of Histology and Embryology 3: Laboratory of Morphometry and Cardiovascular Morphology, Biomedical Center, Institute of Biology, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

Publication date: 2008-10-01

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Pathology
• By this author: Fontana, Karina ;  Oliveira, Helena Coutinho Franco ;  Leonardo, Marta Beatriz ;  Mandarim-de-Lacerda, Carlos Alberto ;  da Cruz-Höfling, Maria Alice

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers