Effect of Testosterone Propionate on Levels of Carnitine and Testicular Androgen Binding Protein (ABP) in Rat Epididymis

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Abstract
Twenty-one day old rats were treated for 10 days with various doses of testosterone propionate (TP) (10 .mu.g-10 mg/day) and the levels of L-carnitine and testicular androgen binding protein (ABP) were measured in the 105,000 .times. g supernatant fractions of epididymis. Treatment with TP in increasing doses had a biphasic effect on the level of ABP in the epididymis; with doses of TP of 10-100 .mu.g/day, the ABP level was reduced in a dose-dependent way, whereas with higher doses of TP (0.2-1 mg/day) the extent of reduction of ABP levels was less as the dose of TP increased. Treatment with high doses (5 mg or 10 mg/day) did not change the ABP level compared with non-treated control rats. The concentration of carnitine increased linearly (log dose-response) with increasing doses of TP (10-200 .mu.g/day), and there was no further increase after treatment with higher doses of TP. In adult rats TP (175 .mu.g and 17.5 mg/day) reduced the level of ABP but not the level of carnitine in the epididymis. ABP is probably of minor importance for the supply of androgens to the carnitine-concentrating cells in the corpus and cauda epididymis.