Age-Dependent Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin Expression in Male Rat

In humans, the organs other than the liver known to produce SHBG include the brain, uterus, testis, prostate, breast and ovary, and the locally expressed SHBG is considered to play an important role in various physiological and pathological processes.

A few studies of SHBG in rats were reported, but systemic SHBG studies in consideration of different organs and aging are currently missing. So we examined the SHBG expression in the brain, liver, prostate, and serum in 40 Sprague–Dawley male rats in four different groups (newborn, 2, 6, and 12 months old, respectively) with 10 in each group by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescience microscopy, qRT-PCR, ELISA, western blotting, and laser confocal microscopy.