Histological Evaluation of the Effect of Some Steroid Hormones on the Structure of Muscles in Adult Male Albino Rats

Abstract

This study aimed to histologically evaluate the effect of some steroidal hormones on muscular tissue in adult rats. This study was conducted at the College of Veterinary Medicine – University of Tikrit. This study was conducted on adult white rats, where 32 rats were used ranging in age between 10–12 weeks and weighing (150–180) grams, and the experiment was divided into 8 groups each containing 4 rats. The experiment included three doses, the first therapeutic, the second prophylactic, and the third toxic, and the steroidal hormones in each dose included testosterone and boldenone together and testosterone and trenbolone together. The laboratory experiment results showed the appearance of muscular tissue with intact structure and normal regular muscle fibers in which the cytoplasm and peripheral nuclei appear in the negative control group (tap water), while in the positive control group (DMSO) simple and partial necrosis was found in the muscle fibers with slight infiltration of white blood cells as a result of mechanical stress during injection. Regarding the low therapeutic dose of testosterone and boldenone and testosterone and trenbolone, they had anabolic effects as the fibers appeared regular and compact with parallel bundles and their cytoplasm was acidophilic in staining with spindle-shaped nuclei, and leukocytic infiltration was also found reflecting an inflammatory response. As for the prophylactic dose of the same hormones, it revealed the presence of hypertrophy in the diameter of muscle fibers with intact structure and regularity of fibers and fibrotic hypertrophy. On the other hand, the toxic doses of these steroidal hormones showed severe and highly harmful and dangerous effects at the level of skeletal muscle fibers represented by tissue disintegration of these fibers and the appearance of prominent grooves in the cytoplasm and disintegration of muscular bundle continuity with acute focal necrosis and degeneration.

     Based on these results, it is clear that steroidal hormones represent a double-edged weapon as they enhance the construction of muscular tissue and hypertrophy of muscle fibers at low and moderate prophylactic doses, but at high or toxic doses they transform into a destructive risk factor for the structure of muscular tissue and cause severe histological and vascular damage.