Comparative Study of the Protective Effect of an Anabolic Steroid

Abstract

Toxic fatty liver is often related to the inhibition of the biosynthesis of the protein moiety of hepatic lipoproteins and to the subsequent trouble of the secretion of liver triglycerides (TG). The purpose of the studies reported here was to prevent this biochemical injury by a daily administration of an anabolic steroid: 19 NTPP (25 mg/kg/24h, i.p.), to female rats, eight days before the administration of two steatogenic agents: White Phosphorus (WP) (10 mg/kg, s.c) and Amanita phalloides extract (AP) (0.5 ml/kg, i.p). The animals are killed 36 h (WP) or 18 h (AP) after poisoning and hepatic lipid components are determined. In the two cases, the TG accumulated are responsible for the fatty liver, with a 5–6 fold increase as compared with controls. The preventive administration of 19 NTPP provokes a decrease of liver TG in both intoxications, but with different intensity: very marked with AP, moderately marked with WP.

These results can be interpreted as a much more specific protective effect of 19 NTPP in AP fatty liver, related to the stimulation of RNA polymerase II, inhibited by alpha-Amanitin; in WP fatty liver, the moderate effect of 19 NTPP could be due to a non specific stimulation of the biosynthesis of the liver apolipoproteins. In any case, and as previously indicated, the part of the inhibition of the hepatic proteins biosynthesis in the biochemical mechanism of these toxic liver steatosis appears as well demonstrated.