Effect
of androgen deprivation on penile ultrastructure

Zhou-Jun SHEN¹, Xie-Lai
ZHOU¹, Ying-Li LU², Zhao-Dian CHEN¹

Asian
J Androl 2003 Mar; 5: 33-36

Keywords:
corpus cavernosum; tunica albuginea; androgens; ???; scanning electron
microscopy

Abstract

Aim: To investigate
the ultrastructural changes of penile corpus cavernosum and tunica albuginea
in rats treated with castration or finasteride. Methods: Eighteen
male Sprague-Dawley rats of nine weeks old were randomly divided into
three groups with 6 rats each. Group A served as the control, Group B
was castrated and Group C, treated with finasteride. Four weeks later,
rats were anesthetized and blood samples obtained for the determination
of serum testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels; penile
tissues were taken for scanning electron microscopy. Results: The
T, free T and DHT levels in Group B and the DHT level in Group C were
significantly lower than those in Group A (P<0.05). The tunica
albuginea was significantly thinner in Group B than that in Group A (P<0.05),
but there was no significant difference between Group C and Group A (P>0.05).
Elastic fibers in the tunica albuginea of Group A were very rich and arranged
regularly and undulatedly, but in Group B, most of the elastic fibers
were replaced by collagenous fibers. In Group C, the tunica albuginea
was mainly composed of thick and irregular-arranged collagenous fibers.
In Group A, there were abundant smooth muscle fibers in the trabeculae
of corpus cavernosum, but they were much less in Group C and scarce or
even disappeared in Group B. In Groups B and C, the diminished/disappeared
smooth muscle fibers were replaced by irregularly arranged collagenous
fibers. Conclusion: In rats, androgen is essential for maintaining
the normal structure of penile tunica albuginea and corpus carvenosum.