Skip to main content
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1988 May;32(5):646–648. doi: 10.1128/aac.32.5.646

Fluconazole and testosterone: in vivo and in vitro studies.

D P Hanger 1, S Jevons 1, J T Shaw 1
PMCID: PMC172246  PMID: 2840013

Abstract

Fluconazole (UK-49,858), a novel bis-triazole antifungal agent, was given orally to groups of 10 male volunteers at doses of 25 and 50 mg/day for 28 days. Blood samples for testosterone estimation were taken from these and from a placebo group at several time points on days 1, 14, and 28 of the study, and the assay results demonstrated that the compound had no significant effect on circulating testosterone levels. Similarly, in studies with rat Leydig cells in vitro, fluconazole at concentrations up to 10 micrograms/ml was found to be only a weak inhibitor of testosterone production, whereas ketoconazole caused more than 50% inhibition at 0.1 microgram/ml. It is concluded that fluconazole, in contrast to ketoconazole, has little effect on the biosynthesis of testosterone by mammalian cells.

Full text

PDF
646

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bhasin S., Sikka S., Fielder T., Sod-Moriah U., Levine H. B., Swerdloff R. S., Rajfer J. Hormonal effects of ketoconazole in vivo in the male rat: mechanism of action. Endocrinology. 1986 Mar;118(3):1229–1232. doi: 10.1210/endo-118-3-1229. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. DeFelice R., Johnson D. G., Galgiani J. N. Gynecomastia with ketoconazole. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1981 Jun;19(6):1073–1074. doi: 10.1128/aac.19.6.1073. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Humphrey M. J., Jevons S., Tarbit M. H. Pharmacokinetic evaluation of UK-49,858, a metabolically stable triazole antifungal drug, in animals and humans. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1985 Nov;28(5):648–653. doi: 10.1128/aac.28.5.648. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Kan P. B., Hirst M. A., Feldman D. Inhibition of steroidogenic cytochrome P-450 enzymes in rat testis by ketoconazole and related imidazole anti-fungal drugs. J Steroid Biochem. 1985 Dec;23(6A):1023–1029. doi: 10.1016/0022-4731(85)90062-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Lambert A., Mitchell R., Robertson W. R. The effect of ketoconazole on adrenal and testicular steroidogenesis in vitro. Biochem Pharmacol. 1986 Nov 15;35(22):3999–4004. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(86)90018-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Loose D. S., Kan P. B., Hirst M. A., Marcus R. A., Feldman D. Ketoconazole blocks adrenal steroidogenesis by inhibiting cytochrome P450-dependent enzymes. J Clin Invest. 1983 May;71(5):1495–1499. doi: 10.1172/JCI110903. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Mason J. I., Murry B. A., Olcott M., Sheets J. J. Imidazole antimycotics: inhibitors of steroid aromatase. Biochem Pharmacol. 1985 Apr 1;34(7):1087–1092. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(85)90613-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Pont A., Graybill J. R., Craven P. C., Galgiani J. N., Dismukes W. E., Reitz R. E., Stevens D. A. High-dose ketoconazole therapy and adrenal and testicular function in humans. Arch Intern Med. 1984 Nov;144(11):2150–2153. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pont A., Williams P. L., Azhar S., Reitz R. E., Bochra C., Smith E. R., Stevens D. A. Ketoconazole blocks testosterone synthesis. Arch Intern Med. 1982 Nov;142(12):2137–2140. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Rajfer J., Sikka S. C., Xie H. W., Swerdloff R. S. Effect of in vitro ketoconazole on steroid production in rat testis. Steroids. 1985 Oct-Nov;46(4-5):867–881. doi: 10.1016/0039-128x(85)90035-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Richardson K., Brammer K. W., Marriott M. S., Troke P. F. Activity of UK-49,858, a bis-triazole derivative, against experimental infections with Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1985 May;27(5):832–835. doi: 10.1128/aac.27.5.832. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Santen R. J., Van den Bossche H., Symoens J., Brugmans J., DeCoster R. Site of action of low dose ketoconazole on androgen biosynthesis in men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1983 Oct;57(4):732–736. doi: 10.1210/jcem-57-4-732. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Schürmeyer T., Nieschlag E. Effect of ketoconazole and other imidazole fungicides on testosterone biosynthesis. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh) 1984 Feb;105(2):275–280. doi: 10.1530/acta.0.1050275. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sikka S. C., Swerdloff R. S., Rajfer J. In vitro inhibition of testosterone biosynthesis by ketoconazole. Endocrinology. 1985 May;116(5):1920–1925. doi: 10.1210/endo-116-5-1920. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Wood P. R., Tarbit M. H. Gas chromatographic method for the determination of fluconazole, a novel antifungal agent, in human plasma and urine. J Chromatogr. 1986 Nov 28;383(1):179–186. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4347(00)83458-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES