This study investigated factors associated with two mortality events: avian botulism in waterfowl and mortality associated with hatching asynchrony in prefledgling Franklins gulls (Larus pipixcan). The initial focus of my research was on the spatiotemporal relationship between mortality of Franklins gulls and the onset of botulism outbreaks in waterfowl, and the suitability of gull carcasses for proliferation and toxigenesis of Clostridium botulinum. From 1999 to 2001, dead hatch-year Franklins gulls were by far the most abundant carcasses, and the only source of toxin-laden maggots found on transects prior to the occurrence of avian botulism in waterfowl. Nest density was a significant predictor of hatch-year gull carcass density. High density of toxic material from gull carcasses prior to the onset of botulism in waterfowl coincided with high densities of susceptible birds; hence, mortality of Franklins gulls has the potential to be a major initiating factor for botulism outbreaks at Eyebrow Lake, Saskatchewan. The causes of gull mortality were conditions or diseases associated with starvation, stress, or immunosuppression, and most mortality occurred in third-hatched chicks. To separate effects of laying order from effects of hatching asynchrony on prefledgling survival, a cross-fostering experiment was conducted to create clutches containing asynchronously hatching eggs of the same laying order, and of similar egg mass, egg volume, and female quality. Hatching order, independent of laying order, significantly affected survival to fledging, whereas laying order had no observable effect, indicating that intraclutch variation in egg quality does not predetermine the fate of prefledglings, and may be less important than hatching asynchrony for survival of prefledgling Franklins gulls. Relationships among hatching asynchrony, laying order, mass, corticosterone, immune function, growth, and survival at two stages of development were complex. Hatching asynchrony significantly affected early and late prefledgling survival, and was directly or indirectly associated with mass, corticosterone level, and cell-mediated immune responses at early and later stages of development. Both hatching asynchrony and mass appeared to play key roles in mediating life history trade-offs among cell-mediated immune function, growth, and survival. In contrast to cell-mediated immune responses, primary humoral immune response was not directly affected by hatching order or mass, nor was it associated with survival to fledging. Rather, it was associated with laying order, neonatal testosterone, corticosterone at 2 weeks, growth of leg length, and clutch initiation date, illustrating the importance of examining more than one branch of the immune system in studies of life history trade-offs. This study is a step toward using a multipronged and multidisciplinary approach to demonstrate interactions and trade-offs among life history traits, the physiological mechanisms that produce these relationships, and how these relationships may change depending on stage of development.

This thesis presents an eclectic mix of studies which consider laterality in the context of previous findings of increased prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in male combat veterans with non-consistent right hand preference. Two studies extend these findings not just to civilian populations and women, but to left handers and find that left, rather than mixed, handedness is associated with increased prevalence of PTSD in both general population and clinical samples, and to severity of symptoms in the former. To examine issues relevant to the fear response in healthy populations, a movie excerpt is shown to be theoretically likely to target the emotion of fear and to generate subjective and physiological (skin conductance) responses of fear. The film is used as a laboratory analogue of fear to examine possible differences in left and right handers in memory (for events of the film) and in an emotional Stroop paradigm known to produce a robust and large effect specifically in PTSD. According to predictions based on lateralisation of functions in the brain relevant to the fear response, left handers show a pattern of enhanced memory for visual items and poorer memory for verbal material compared to right handers. Immediately after viewing the film, left handers show an interference effect on the Stroop paradigm to general threat and film words and increased response latency compared to right handers, approaching performance of previously reported clinical samples with PTSD. A novel non-word Stroop task fails to show these effects, consistent both with accounts of interference as language processing effects and compromised verbal processing in PTSD. Unexpected inferior performance of females in memory for the film, contrary to previous literature, may also be amenable to explanations invoking compromised left hemisphere language functions in fear situations. In testing one theory of left handedness as due to increased levels of in utero testosterone, the 2D:4D (second to fourth digit ratio) provides mixed evidence in two samples. A possible association of more female-like digit ratios in males with PTSD is a tentative finding possibly relevant to sex differences in prevalence of PTSD. A critique of existing and inadequate theoretical accounts of handedness concludes the thesis and proposes a modification of the birth stress hypothesis to one specifically considering peri-natal trauma to account for the above findings. This hypothesis remains to be empirically tested.

No description available.

Un animal qui s’approvisionne en groupe peut rechercher soi-même sa nourriture (tactique producteur) ou tenter de se joindre à des parcelles déjà découvertes par un autre individu (tactique chapardeur). Bien que les modèles de jeu producteur-chapardeur partent du principe que les gains moyens à l’équilibre associés à chacune de ces tactiques sont égaux et ne dépendent pas des caractéristiques des individus, de plus en plus d’études démontrent que le gain de chaque tactique est influencé par certaines caractéristiques phénotypiques (agressivité, capacités d’apprentissage,…). Dans cette étude, nous nous intéressons aux effets de la testostérone sur le choix des tactiques d’approvisionnement chez les mâles de diamant mandarin (Taeniopygia guttata). La testostérone est connue pour influencer le développement du cerveau et l’agressivité, nous avons donc testé les effets d’une exposition prénatale à la testostérone ainsi que durant l’âge adulte sur le choix des tactiques d’approvisionnement lorsque la nourriture est cryptique ou défendable. Nous avons réalisé deux expériences : nous avons tout d’abord utilisé la longueur du tarse ainsi que la différence entre les longueurs des doigts 2 et 4 comme des indicateurs de l’exposition prénatale à la testostérone puis testé si ces différences morphologiques se traduisent par des différences dans le choix des tactiques dans une condition défendable et une condition cryptique. Nous avons trouvé que le choix des tactiques chez les diamants mandarins était limité par le phénotype. Une exposition précoce à la testostérone au cours du développement prénatal pourrait donc être la cause d’au moins une part de la variation observée dans le choix des tactiques d’approvisionnement. Ensuite, nous avons manipulé le taux de testostérone plasmatique chez des mâles adultes grâce à des implants hormonaux sous-cutanés puis comparé le comportement des individus lorsqu’ils portaient un implant hormonal et un implant contrôle et ce, dans chacune des deux conditions d’approvisionnement. Nous n’avons mis en évidence aucun effet du taux de testostérone plasmatique sur le choix des tactiques à l’âge adulte. Nos résultats sont en accord avec l’hypothèse que le choix des tactiques d’approvisionnement peut être influencé par les hormones. Notre conclusion est que les hormones stéroïdiennes peut affecter le choix des tactiques via l’existence d’effets maternels dans le jeu producteur-chapardeur. / An animal foraging in groups can search for its own food (producer tactic) or try to join food patches previously discovered by another group member (scrounger tactic). Although producer-scrounger game models assume that the payoffs associated with both tactic are equal at equilibrium and so do not depend on individual characteristics, there is recent evidence that tactic choice is constrained by certain phenotypical traits (aggressivity, learning abilities…). In this study, we examined the effect of testosterone on tactic use in male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Because testosterone is known to affect both brain development and aggressiveness, we tested whether differences in testosterone exposure either during development or in adulthood had an effect on producer-scrounger tactic use, when food was cryptic or defendable. First, we measured the tarsus length and the distance between the end of the fourth and the end of the second digit as proxies of prenatal exposure to testosterone, and tested whether they were correlated with foraging tactic use under both conditions. We found that tactic choice in zebra finches is phenotypically constrained. We suggest that early exposure to sex hormones during the embryonic period could be responsible for at least a part of the variation in tactic choice. Second, we manipulated the circulating level of testosterone in adult male zebra finches using subcutaneous testosterone implants, and compared the behavior of individuals when they had either a control implant or a testosterone implant. This time we found no effect of plasmatic level of testosterone on tactic choice. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that tactic choice in zebra finches could be mediated by hormones. Our finding that steroid hormones can affect tactic use provides evidence for maternal effects in producer-scrounger games.

<p>Endocrine&ndash / disrupting compounds (EDCs) are exogenous compounds/chemicals which interfere with, or have adverse effects on the production, distribution and function of natural hormones, thereby affecting normal endocrine activity, health and quality of life of both humans and wildlife. The reproductive system is highly susceptible to EDCs due to it being controlled by an array of hormonal signals. The effects of EDCs on the male reproductive system include infertility, decreased sperm count, function and morphology, abnormal development of secondary sex characteristics, reproductive function and sexual behaviour as well as decreased libido. There are various sources by which EDCs enter the environment which include effluents from several industries (mining, agriculture, smelting, hazardous waste sites, manufacturing industries, etc.), sewage treatment effluents, urban and agricultural runoff and effluents which include natural and pharmaceutical chemicals excreted in the urine of humans and domestic livestock, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, plasticizers, surfactants, etc. Humans and animals can also be affected by EDCs by consuming food containing endocrine active substances. The growing concern regarding adverse effects due to EDC exposure of humans and wildlife, as well as the increased incidence of EDC contamination has prompted extensive research into the development and validation of screening tests to detect and monitor known EDCs and new substances with endocrine-disrupting capability. These screening tests involve assessing the effect of known and potential EDCs on reproductive function and development as well as&nbsp / hormone production. To assess the effect of EDCs on the reproductive system different methods are employed which include in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo methods. In vitro methods have been suggested as a suitable screening tool for EDC monitoring due to low costs, reduced animal usage, the use of standard and basic equipment as well as the ability to screen a large number of samples with multiple endpoints. Of the available in vitro methods, the minced testes method has been suggested as the most suitable method for screening EDCs and for this reason has been employed in this study. The aim of this study was thus to employ a minced testes method to screen samples for male reproductive toxicity using cell viability and hormone production (testosterone and estradiol) as endpoints.The first objective of this study was to optimize an in vitro testicular cell culture assay by determining both optimal luteinizing hormone (LH)&nbsp / concentration and incubation time needed for testosterone production. Testicular cell cultures were prepared and cells were treated with varying concentrations of LH (10, 1, 0.1, 0.01 and 0 mu/ml) and incubated for 4 hours and 20 hours. Testosterone production was evaluated for each incubation period. Testosterone production was significantly increased for both incubation periods at all LH concentrations tested as compared to the control. For both incubation periods, there was no significant difference in testosterone production between the different LH concentrations tested. From the data obtained, the 4 hour incubation period as well as the LH concentration of 10 mu/ml were selected as optimal for the testicular cell culture assay. The second objective of this study was to determine the effect of Tulbaghia violacea Harv. on the male reproductive system. T. violacea is a plant species indigenous to southern Africa and is used locally as a herbal remedy/medicine to treat several ailments. Cells were treated with varying concentrations of the T. violacea ethanol extract (with/without LH-treatment) and incubated for 4 hours. Hormone production and cell viability were evaluated. The results obtained from this pilot in vitro study demonstrated that the ethanol extract of T.violacea has androgenic properties by significantly increasing LH-induced testosterone production in mouse testes with no significant change in cell viability. The third objective of this study was to assess the effect of Sutherlandia frutescens(L.) R.Br and Artemisia afra Jacq. Ex Willd. on the male reproductive system. S. frutescens and A. afra are also plant species indigenous to southern Africa and used locally as a herbal remedy/medicine to treat several ailments. Ethanol extracts of each plant was prepared and cells were treated with varying concentrations of each extract (0, 156.25, 312.5, 625, 1250,2500 and 5000 &mu / g/ml) with or without LH-treatment and incubated for 4 hours. Cytotoxicity by LDH measurement and hormone production (testosterone and estradiol) were endpoints that were evaluated. The results obtained showed that the ethanol extracts of both plants are not cytotoxic to testicular cells and that A. afra decreases testosterone production at high concentrations. The fourth and final objective of this study was to assess the acute effect of four heavy metals, namely manganese, copper, cadmium and magnesium on the male reproductive system. These heavy metals are used extensively in manufacturing and mining industries. Cells were treated with varying concentrations of each metal salt (200, 100, 50, 25, 12.5, and 6.25&nbsp / &mu / M) with or without LH-treatment and incubated for 4 hours. Endpoints evaluated included cell viability, testosterone and estradiol production. The results obtained showed that manganese, cadmium and copper are highly toxic to testicular cells in vitro and therefore may potentially cause reproductive toxicity.</p>

The objectives of this thesis were: (1) to evaluate the downregulation of the stallion hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis by a GnRH antagonist (acyline) based upon endocrine, seminal, testicular and behavioral effects, and (2) to assess recovery after treatment. Stallions were treated for 50 days (n=4; 330µg/kg acyline q 5d) and controls (n=4) received vehicle alone. Stallions were assessed pre-treatment and for 72 days after last treatment. Treatment induced declines (p<0.05) in FSH, LH, testosterone (to castrate levels) and estrone sulfate. Gonadotropins and testosterone returned to control values within nine days and estrone sulfate by 14 days after treatment discontinuation. Acyline-treated stallions failed to respond with FSH, LH and testosterone increase after exogenous GnRH stimulation (25µg gonadorelin, IV) compared to pre-treatment and control stimulation. Total sperm numbers and motility were reduced in acyline-treated stallions, as well as total seminal plasma protein and testicular volume (p<0.05). Time to ejaculation was increased in acyline group (p<0.5). Testicular, sexual behavior and most seminal parameters regained normal levels within 72 days after treatment ceased. Sperm output of acyline-treated stallions was regained within seven months after ending treatment. Acyline reversibly suppressed the stallion HPG axis, thus has potential for treating the androgen-dependent Equine-Arteritis-Virus carrier state and as behavior modulator.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2008. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Le virus de l’Artérite Virale Équine (EAV) est un virus à ARN simple brin positif, appartenant à la famille des Arteriviridae, dans l’ordre des Nidovirales. C’est un virus spécifique des équidés qui peut être transmis par voies respiratoire et vénérienne. Lors de la primo-infection, l’EAV peut entraîner des signes cliniques grippaux, mais de façon plus grave, il peut aussi provoquer l’avortement des juments gestantes ainsi que la mort des nouveau-nés. L’EAV représente donc un enjeu économique majeur pour la filière équine. Suite à la primo-infection, ce virus peut persister dans de l’appareil reproducteur de certains étalons. Les mécanismes de cette persistance ne sont pas connus.Au cours de cette thèse, le premier modèle in vitro d’infection non lytique d’une lignée issue de l’appareil reproducteur mâle par l’EAV a été développé. L’infection de ces cellules de Leydig a montré une induction de l’expression de nombreux gènes de l’immunité innée dont ceux codant pour des cytokines pro-inflammatoires et des chimiokines qui permettraient le recrutement de cellules de l’immunité innée au niveau des testicules, et qui pourraient expliquer l’orchite observée chez certains étalons lors de la phase aiguë de l’infection. Pour les étalons infectés de façon persistante, la castration et les traitements anti-GnRH peuvent permettre la suppression de la persistance du virus, suggérant ainsi une implication de la testostérone dans la persistance du virus. Les cellules TM3 exprimant le récepteur aux androgènes, des essais de traitements ont été réalisés. Les premiers résultats préliminaires semblent indiquer que les cellules TM3 ne répondent pas ou peu au stimulus hormonal. Cependant, des tests de prétraitement par la testostérone seraient à envisager afin d’en étudier les conséquences sur le cycle viral. Ce modèle d’infection non lytique reste cependant un modèle intéressant pouvant être utilisé afin d’étudier les relations hôte-pathogène et pouvant aider à comprendre les mécanismes impliqués dans la persistance de l’EAV. / Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV) is a positive-strand RNA virus, which belongs to the Arteriviridae familly, in the Nidovirales order. It is an equid specific virus that can be transmitted by respiratory and venereal routes. During primary infection, EAV can induce flu-like clinical signs, but worse, it may also cause the abortion of pregnant mares and newborn foal death. EAV is therefore a main economic challenge for the horse industry. Following primary infection, this virus is able to persist in the reproductive tract of some stallions. The mechanisms of this persistence remain unknown.During this thesis, the first in vitro model of an EAV non-lytic infection of a male reproductive tract cell line has been developed. EAV infection of these Leydig cells induced the expression of numerous innate immune genes including those coding for pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which could recruit innate immune cells to testicles and which could explain the orchitis observed in some stallions during primary infection.For persistently infected stallions, castration and anti-GnRH treatments can suppress EAV persistence, suggesting an involvement of testosterone in the virus persistence. Since TM3 cells express the androgen receptor, treatment trials have been performed. The first preliminary results suggest TM3 cells do not respond to the hormonal stimulus, or only a little. However, pretreatment trials should be realized to study the consequences on the viral cycle.Nevertheless, this non-lytic infection model is still an interesting model that can be used to study the host-pathogen relationship and that could help understanding the mechanisms involved in EAV persistence.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:50:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-04-28 / Introdução: As doenças cardiovasculares (DCVs) representam o principal grupo de causa de morte no Brasil, com destaque para doença arterial coronariana (DAC). O sexo masculino apresenta maior incidência e mortalidade por DAC que o feminino. Uma das explicações para o fato era o possível efeito deletério da Testosterona no sistema cardiovascular masculino e o efeito protetor do Estradiol no sistema cardiovascular feminino. Contudo, evidências recentes da literatura apontam para um efeito protetor ou neutro da Testosterona no aparelho cardiovascular masculino, enquanto níveis elevados de Estradiol nos homens estiveram correlacionados com maior morbidade e mortalidade por doenças cardiovasculares. Objetivos: Realizar uma revisão da literatura da relação existente entre Testosterona sérica e doença cardiovascular em homens adultos; Avaliar a relação existente entre Testosterona Total, Testosterona Biodisponível, Testosterona Livre, Índice de Andrógenos Livres (IAL), Globulina Ligadora de Esteróides Sexuais (SHBG), Estradiol, Índice de Estrógenos Livres (IEL), relação Estradiol / Testosterona e a relação IEL / IAL e doença arterial coronariana em homens adultos; Entender o papel da Globulina Ligadora de Esteróides Sexuais como novo componente as síndrome metabólica. Material e Métodos: A revisão da relação entre testosterona e doença cardiovascular foi realizada através da base de dados do PubMed com a utilização dos unitermos testosterona e doença cardiovascular; a avaliação da relação existente entre esteróides sexuais e DAC foi realizada através de um estudo de caso controle com homens adultos submetidos ao Cateterismo de Artérias Coronárias no Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia; o entendimento do papel da SHBG como novo componente as síndrome metabólica através da análise dos dados obtidos do estudo “Estradiol but not Testosterone is Related to Coronary Artery Disease”. Resultados: Os resultados foram dispostos em 03 artigos, a saber: ARTIGO 1 “Testosterona Sérica e Doença Cardiovascular em Homens”; ARTIGO 2 “Estradiol but not Testosterone is Related to Coronary Artery Disease in Men”; ARTIGO 3 (preparando para a submissão) “Sex hormone binding globulin a novel component of metabolic syndrome”. Conclusões: Os estudos selecionados da literatura que avaliaram a relação entre testosterona e doença cardiovascular apresentavam pequeno número de participantes e amostras selecionadas, ornando necessário que novos estudos avaliem o papel da testosterona na DCV nos homens. Os achados apresentados sinalizam para uma correlação positiva entre níveis séricos de Estradiol e IEL com DAC. Foram observados efeitos neutros da testosterona total, testosterona biodisponível, testosterona livre, índice de andrógenos livres SHBG, relação Estradiol / Testosterona e relação IEL / IAL na incidência dessa patologia. Baixos níveis de SHBG parecem se correlacionar positivamente com os componentes da síndrome metabólica, sendo necessários novos estudos que avaliem esse parâmetro como novo componente desta Síndrome. / Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent the main cause of death in Brazil, and among them especially the coronary artery diseases (CADs). Men present higher incidence and mortality rates for CAD than women. One of the explanations for this fact may be the possibly deleterious effect of testosterone on the male cardiovascular system and the protective effect of estradiol on the female cardiovascular system. However, recent studies in the literature indicate that testosterone has an either protective or neutral effect on the male cardiovascular system, while high levels of estradiol in men have been correlated to higher rates of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Objectives: To carry out a review of the literature regarding the relationship between testosterone and cardiovascular disease in men, to evaluate the existing relationships among total testosterone, bioavailable testosterone, free testosterone, free androgen index (FAI), sex hormone binding globulin, estradiol, free estrogen index (FEI), estradiol/testosterone ratio and FEI/FAI ratio and coronary artery disease in men; to understand the role of the sex hormone binding globulin as a new component of the metabolic syndrome. Material and Methods: The review of the literature regarding the relationship between testosterone and cardiovascular disease was performed using the PubMed database and the keywords testosterone and cardiovascular disease. The relationship between sex steroids and CAD was evaluated by a case-control study performed on men submitted to coronary angiography at the Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia. The role of the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) as a new component of the metabolic syndrome was evaluated using the data obtained by the study “Estradiol but not Testosterone is Related to Coronary Artery Disease”. Results: The results were presented in three articles, namely: ARTICLE 1 - “Serum Testosterone and Cardiovascular Disease in Men”; ARTICLE 2 - “Estradiol but not Testosterone is Related to Coronary Artery Disease in Men”; ARTICLE 3 - (being prepared for submission) - “Sex hormone binding globulin, the novel component of metabolic syndrome?”. Conclusions: The studies retrieved from the literature which evaluated the relationship between testosterone and cardiovascular disease presented small numbers of participants and selected samples, which indicated the need for further studies to evaluate the role of testosterone in CVD in men. The findings presented suggest a positive correlation between estradiol and FEI levels with CAD. A neutral effect of total testosterone, bioavailable testosterone, free testosterone, free androgen index, SHBG, estradiol/testosterone ratio and FEI/FAI ratio on the incidence of this pathology was observed. Low levels of SHBG seem to correlate positively with the components of the metabolic syndrome, but further studies are necessary to evaluate this parameter as a new component of this syndrome. / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

Evidências recentes em animais e humanos sugerem que níveis adequados de testosterona são necessários para as funções adequadas de diversos órgãos do sistema urogenital, incluindo a bexiga urinária. Estudos sobre os efeitos da testosterona na estrutura da parede da bexiga são raros. Portanto, o objetivo do presente trabalho é avaliar através de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos, as alterações estruturais da parede vesical de ratos submetidos à castração cirúrgica, bem como o papel da reposição hormonal na reversão das possíveis alterações estruturais. Foram usados 24 ratos machos Sprague-Dawley com aproximadamente 12 semanas de idade. Os animais foram divididos em 3 grupos compostos de 8 animais cada e tratados como a seguir. C = Grupo Castrado os animais foram submetidos a orquiectomia e sacrificados após 2 meses, S = Grupo Simulado os animais foram submetidos a operação simulada e sacrificados após 2 meses, T = Grupo Testosterona os animais foram submetidos a castração e após 1 mês foram submetidos a reposição hormonal com undecanoato de testosterona em dose única subcutânea de 100 mg/kg (T) e após 1 mês da reposição hormonal foram sacrificados. Foram realizadas análises quantitativa e qualitativa do colágeno (usando histoquímica, histomorfometria, bioquímica e microscopia eletrônica de varredura), e análise histomorfométrica do músculo liso e das fibras do sistema elástico na parede da bexiga em controles e em ratos submetidos apenas a castração, e em ratos submetidos a castração e reposição hormonal. A análise morfométrica da altura do urotélio não apresentou diferença entre os grupos. Não houve diferença significativa na análise quantitativa do colágeno, tanto por histomorfometria quanto por bioquímica. Entretanto, a análise qualitativa mostrou diferenças do colágeno no grupo castrado quando comparado aos controles e aos ratos com reposição hormonal. Existiu uma diminuição significativa nos valores absolutos das fibras do sistema elástico no grupo castrado. Por outro lado, o músculo liso apresentou um aumento significativo na massa muscular por densidade de área nos ratos castrados; entretanto, a contagem dos núcleos das células musculares não apresentou variação entre os grupos, demonstrando que o aumento foi devido a hipertrofia muscular e não por aumento do número de células. Interessantemente, a reposição hormonal com testosterona foi capaz de reverter todas as alterações observadas. Os resultados sugerem que a reposição hormonal, mesmo quando instituída em fase tardia, é efetiva na reversão das alterações da parede da bexiga produzidas por hipogonadismo secundário. / Recent evidences in animals and humans have suggested that adequate levels of testosterone are necessary to adequate functions of diverse organs of the urogenital system, including the urinary bladder. Studies on the effects of testosterone in the bladder wall structure are rare. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to evaluate, through qualitative and quantitative methods, the structural alterations in the bladder wall of rats submitted to surgical castration as well as the role of hormonal replacement in reversing the possible structural alterations. We used 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats that were approximately 12 weeks of age. The animals were divided into 3 groups composed of 8 animals each and treated as follows. Group C = group that underwent orchiectomy and were sacrificed after 2 months, Group S = sham group sacrificed after 2 months, and Group T = group that underwent orchiectomy, and after 1 month underwent testosterone replacement with a subcutaneous single dose of testosterone undecanoate at 100 mg/kg (T) and after 1 month of hormonal replacement, the animals were sacrificed. We performed a qualitative and quantitative analysis of collagen (by using histochemistry, histomorphometry, biochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy), and a histomorphometric analysis of smooth muscle and elastic system fibers in bladder wall of controls and rats submitted to orchiectomy alone and with hormonal replacement. The histomorphometric analysis on the epithelial height did not show differences among the groups. There was no statistically significant difference in the quantitative analysis for collagen, both by histomorphometry and biochemistry. Nevertheless, the qualitative analysis showed differences in collagen in the castrated group, when compared to controls and to rats with hormonal replacement. There was a significant decrease in the absolute values of elastic system fibers in the castrated group. On the other hand, the smooth muscle presented a significant increase in muscular mass by density of area in castrated rats; nevertheless, the counting of muscle cells nuclei did not present variation among the groups, demonstrating that this increase was due to cellular hypertrophy rather than by an increase in cells number. Interestingly, the hormonal replacement with testosterone was able to reverse all alterations observed. The results suggest that hormonal replacement, even when instituted at a late stage, is effective in reversing the bladder wall alterations produced by secondary hypogonadism.