The effect of eight weeks of testosterone enanthate consumption on antioxidant activity and NF-KB and cyclooxygenase-2 genes expression of kidney tissue in resistance trained male rats

Anabolic-androgenic steroids can cause disturbances in the antioxidant system and some inflammatory markers such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-KB) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in kidney of athletes. So, this study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of testosterone enanthate consumption on antioxidant activity, NF-KB and COX-2 genes expression in kidney tissue of resistance-trained male rats.

24 male rats were divided into three groups: control, training, training + testosterone after a week of familiarization. Rats in the training and training + testosterone groups performed resistance training for eight weeks and five sessions per week. Also, rats in the training + testosterone group received 20 mg/kg/week of testosterone enanthate by intramuscular injection three days a week. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the research findings (P≤0.05).

The results of one-way analysis of variance showed that COX-2 gene expression in the training group (P=0.001) and the training + testosterone group (P=0.001) had a significant increase compared to the control group. Also, a significant increase was observed in the Training + testosterone group compared to the training group (P=0.001). NF-kB gene expression in the training group (P=0.003) and the training + testosterone group (P=0.001) compared to the control group significantly was higher. Also, a significant increase was observed in the training + testosterone group compared to the training group (P=0.002).

It seems that intense resistance training and testosterone consumption can lead to an increase in inflammatory factors in the kidney tissue of resistance trained rats.