EVALUATION OF THE ANDROGENIC/ANTIANDROGENIC ACTIVITY
OF SELECTIVE SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITORS
ANCA POP, DIANA LUPU*, JULIEN CHERFAN, BELA KISS, FELICIA LOGHIN
“Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca,
Romania
*corresponding author: diana_lupu87@yahoo.com
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Abstract:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are being increasingly prescribed to treat depression, even during pregnancy
and postpartum, although recent studies suggest that SSRIs may interfere with sexual steroid signalling, potentially causing
adverse effects in exposed children. This study aimed to assess potential SSRIs interactions with the androgen receptors (AR)
in vitro, using a firefly luciferase reporter construct in the MDA-kb2 cell line. The tested compounds were fluoxetine and its
metabolite, norfluoxetine, sertraline and paroxetine. None of the compounds induced AR-transcriptional activity during
individual testing. In mixtures with dihydrotestosterone (DHT), all the compounds induced a significant increase in luciferase
expression (compared to the positive control) at low concentrations. This study shows for the first time that SSRIs may
potentiate the DHT-induced androgenic activity, and depending on the mechanism underlying this effect, these results could
raise concern regarding the endocrine toxicity.

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