Effect of Wuziyanzong pill on levels of sex hormones, and expressions of nuclear- associated antigen Ki-67 and androgen receptor in testes of young rats

To evaluate the effects of Wuziyanzong pill on the levels of serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T) and the expressions of nuclear-associated antigen Ki67 (Ki67), androgen receptor (AR) in testes of young rats.Sixteen 20-day-old Wistar male rats were randomly divided into control and treatment group (n = 8). Rats in treatment group were administered Wuziyanzong pill by gavage; rats in control group administered the same volume of saline. After 10 days of treatment, the rats were killed, and then serum and testes were taken. The levels of FSH, LH and T were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The histology of seminiferous tubule was observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The expression of Ki67 was detected by immunohistochemical assay (IHC). The mRNA level of Ki67, AR and CK-18 was detected with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-RT-PCR), the protein level of AR and CK-18 were tested by Western blot.Compared with control group, T level in treatment group increased significantly (P < 0.05). HE staining showed that both leydig cells and germ cells increased in treatment group. Expressions of Ki67 and AR became higher after treatment. There were no changes in CK-18 expression.Wuziyanzong pill can up-regulate AR level to promote germ cell proliferation and differentiation in young male rats.