Post-weaning differential housing and testosterone secretion in male mice.

The effect of different densities of animals per cage on basal testosterone secretion and its response to some stimuli was studied in prepuberal male mice. Mice housed with 110 or 55 cm2 of floor space per animal showed the same basal serum testosterone and hCG-induced testosterone release. Likewise, in a second experiment, the same basal serum testosterone and a similar response to acute noise stress were found in mice housed at 132, 66 or 22 cm2 of floor space per animal. These results suggest that post-weaning crowding did not affect Leydig cell function in male mice.