scholarly journals The nuclear oestrogen receptor in the female rat. Effects of oestradiol administration during the oestrous cycle on the uterus and contrasting effects of progesterone on the uterus and hypothalamus

1981 ◽  
Vol 198 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Thrower ◽  
L Lim

Oestradiol administration to immature or ovariectomized rats has been reported to increase the uterine content of long-term nuclear oestrogen receptors. However, in the intact adult female rat, oestradiol administration did not increase the concentration of long-term nuclear oestrogen receptors at all phases of the oestrous cycle. Progesterone administration to rats in late dioestrus did not affect the concentration of uterine nuclear oestrogen receptors 24 h later, although it did prevent the normal cyclic increase at pro-oestrus in the concentration of hypothalamic nuclear oestrogen receptors. Our results therefore show that in the intact adult rat, factors other than the concentration of progesterone or oestradiol determine the nuclear concentration of oestrogen receptors in the uterus. They also demonstrate differences between neural and non-neural tissues in the regulation of oestrogen-receptor interactions.

1982 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrizia Limonta ◽  
Roberto Maggi ◽  
Luciano Martini ◽  
Flavio Piva

Thermal lesions were placed in the subcommissural organ (SCO) of female rats with normal cycles and long-term ovariectomized rats. In normal female rats SCO lesions disrupted the oestrous cycle in more than half of the animals, the majority of which entered a state of prolonged dioestrus. In these animals, serum gonadotrophin levels were similar to those of rats with regular cycles on day 2 of dioestrus. In animals in which the oestrous cycle was maintained, a delayed LH surge occurred on the day of pro-oestrus and the pro-oestrous FSH surge was absent. The usual increase in FSH on the day of oestrus was present. Lesions in the SCO did not change the high gonadotrophin levels typical of ovariectomized animals. These results suggested that the SCO may play a role in the control of the cyclic but not the tonic release of the gonadotrophins. In particular, it appears that the SCO might be involved in the regulation of the hypersecretion of FSH during the day of pro-oestrus.


1981 ◽  
Vol 194 (3) ◽  
pp. 667-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Thrower ◽  
C Neethling ◽  
J O White ◽  
L Lim

The nuclear oestrogen receptor population in the rat uterus contained an unoccupied receptor component that bound oestradiol with the high affinity (Kd congruent to 0.5 nM) characteristic of oestrogen receptors. This unoccupied receptor was present at all phases of the oestrous cycle. Its content changed in parallel with that of the total nuclear receptor during the cycle. Oestradiol administration to the immature rat resulted in increases in the uterine content of long-term nuclear receptors (i.e., those still present 8 h after administration); these increases were due to occupied oestrogen receptors, since the content of unoccupied receptor was unchanged. Our previous experiments [White & Lim (1980) Biochem. J. 190, 833-837] have shown in contrast, that oestradiol administration results in an increase in the content of unoccupied nuclear receptor in the hypothalamus. However, as in the uterus, similar cyclic changes in the content of unoccupied nuclear receptor occurred in parallel with those of the total nuclear receptor population in the hypothalamus. Differences and similarities between the unoccupied nuclear receptor of the uterus and hypothalamus are briefly discussed.


1986 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. F. Urbanski ◽  
S. R. Ojeda

ABSTRACT The immature female rat shows a mid-afternoon surge of prolactin secretion which reaches a maximum on the day of first pro-oestrus. The present experiments were undertaken to elucidate the mechanisms which underly the development of this prolactin discharge. Detailed plasma prolactin profiles were obtained from short-term (48 h) ovariectomized rats at 23, 28 or 37 days of age. In the two older groups, but not the youngest, a mid-afternoon surge of prolactin secretion occurred in spite of the absence of the ovaries. To exclude the possibility that such an apparent ovarian-independent discharge of prolactin was due to an oestradiol effect which persisted for 2 days following ovariectomy, another study was conducted using long-term ovariectomized animals. Plasma profiles were obtained from neonatally ovariectomized rats at ages equivalent to juvenile (26–28 days), peripubertal (38–41 days) or adult (46–49 days) phases of development. A mid-afternoon surge of prolactin secretion was observed in the majority of animals (eight out of twelve) irrespective of the interval after ovariectomy; this finding further indicates that in the female rat there is a centrally originated mid-afternoon episode of prolactin secretion which is expressed during juvenile development even in the absence of the ovaries. The relatively small magnitude of these ovarian-independent prolactin discharges (c.f. the preovulatory prolactin surge) suggested that in the intact animal they are amplified by ovarian secretions. To test this hypothesis, oestradiol-containing silicone elastomer capsules were implanted s.c. into juvenile rats, immediately after ovariectomy, and plasma prolactin profiles examined 2 days later (28 days of age). In all cases the prolactin surge was greatly amplified and in many instances the magnitude was identical to that observed at first pro-oestrus. These data suggest that development of the large pro-oestrous surge of prolactin secretion involves the interplay of at least two distinct neuroendocrine mechanisms: (1) a centrally originated ovarian-independent signal and (2) an amplification effect exerted by ovarian oestradiol. J. Endocr. (1986) 110, 361–366


1980 ◽  
Vol 190 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
J O White ◽  
L Lim

A major proportion of the hypothalamic nuclear oestrogen receptors were available for complexing with radioactive oestradiol in vitro at 4 degrees C and were apparently unoccupied . At 6 h after oestradiol administration the content of unoccupied nuclear receptors had increased 2.5-fold and represented 71% of the total nuclear receptor content. These results suggest that unoccupied receptors may be active elements in the ‘long-term’ receptor population of the hypothalamus. Androgenized females had lower contents of these receptors.


1980 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Y. ADASHI ◽  
A. J. W. HSUEH ◽  
S. S. C. YEN

Alterations in the concentrations of oestrogen receptors in the uterus, pituitary gland and hypothalamus during the 2 weeks following a single administration of clomiphene citrate (Clomid) to immature, bilaterally ovariectomized rats were investigated. Examination of the uterine wet weight at 1, 7 and 14 days following a single injection of Clomid (100 μg, 250 μg or 10 mg) indicated significant time- and dose-related increments from a control value of 45 ± 2 (s.e.m.) mg to a maximum of 123 ± 3 mg (250 μg dose at 14 days). In contrast, a single injection of oestradiol led to a transient increase in the uterine weight on day 1 to 94 ± 6 mg, but was without effect by days 7 and 14. Analysis of the uterine DNA content 7 and 14 days after treatment with Clomid revealed significant increments from control values of 390 ± 10 μg to a high level of 558 ± 8 μg (10 mg dose at 7 days). There was a transient retention of nuclear oestrogen receptors and rapid replenishment of cytoplasmic oestrogen receptors in less than 24 h in the uteri of animals treated with oestradiol (25 μg), but determinations of receptor content in Clomid-treated animals revealed prolonged retention of nuclear receptors and delayed replenishment of cytoplasmic receptors. The duration and extent of retention of nuclear receptors and depletion of cytoplasmic receptors after treatment with Clomid were found to be dose-dependent. Fourteen days after Clomid treatment, levels of oestrogen receptors in nuclei from the uterus were still raised in all treatment groups, whereas replenishment of cytoplasmic receptors was complete in animals treated with the lower doses (100 and 250 μg) of Clomid. A single injection of Clomid (250 μg) induced similar prolonged retention of nuclear receptors and delayed depletion of cytoplasmic receptors in pituitary tissue. In contrast, changes in the content of oestrogen receptors in the hypothalamus following Clomid treatment were minimal. The limited effect of Clomid on hypothalamic tissue may mean that the pituitary gland is a more important target for this compound than is the hypothalamus. The findings have confirmed earlier reports on the long-term uterotrophic effect of Clomid and have suggested that under these long-term, in-vivo conditions, Clomid acts in the uterus and pituitary gland as a long-acting oestrogen characterized by prolonged retention of oestrogen receptors in the nucleus and delayed, but otherwise effective, replenishment of the oestrogen receptors in the cytoplasm.


1985 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Terakawa ◽  
Ikuya Shimizu ◽  
Hirohisa Tsutsumi ◽  
Toshihiro Aono ◽  
Keishi Matsumoto

Abstract. A possible role of clomiphene citrate (clomiphene) in the control of ovulation in anovulatory women was investigated. Since a single ip administration of 5 μg oestradiol-17β (E2) to long-term ovariectomized rats did not induce LH surge, the following studies were designed to determine whether pretreatment with clomiphene followed by administration of E2 could induce LH surge in the ovariectomized rats. Changes in cytoplasmic and nuclear oestrogen receptors (ER) were also examined in the pituitaries of these animals. An ip injection of 200 μg clomiphene suppressed serum LH levels significantly for 72 h. The clomiphene injection rapidly caused an elevation of nuclear ER with a concomitant depletion of cytoplasmic ER level in the pituitary and the ER levels remained almost unchaged for 72 h. An administration of E2 12 or 24 h after the clomiphene injection had no significant effects on either the serum LH levels or the cytoplasmic and nuclear ER levels, compared with those induced by clomiphene alone. However, LH surge and the depletion of nuclear ER in the pituitary occurred 24 h later when E2 was injected 48 h after the clomiphene administration. The E2-induced LH release seems to be induced by a replacement of clomiphene by E2 on the nuclear receptor complex. These results suggest that clomiphene may exert actions directly on the pituitary gland to augment oestrogeninduced LH release.


1993 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lafuente ◽  
J. Marcó ◽  
A. I. Esquifino

ABSTRACT Prolactin secretion throughout the oestrous cycle in the rat remains at a low level and fairly constant, with the exception of the surge at pro-oestrus. The present study was designed to characterize possible changes in pulsatile patterns of prolactin during the oestrous cycle of the adult female rat. Mean values of prolactin increased from dioestrus-2 to pro-oestrus and then decreased to the values found at dioestrus-1. The number of peaks remained fairly constant in any phase of the oestrous cycle. The absolute amplitude of the peaks increased numerically but was not statistically significant from dioestrus-2 to pro-oestrus then decreasing until dioestrus-1. No changes in the relative amplitude or duration of the peaks throughout the oestrous cycle were detected. The results indicated that there is a similar pulsatile pattern of prolactin at any stage of the oestrous cycle, when samples were obtained during the morning. Journal of Endocrinology (1993) 137, 43–47


1978 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
DOMINIQUE MARTEL ◽  
ALEXANDRE PSYCHOYOS

SUMMARY In ovariectomized rats progesterone acts like oestradiol at the endometrial, but not at the myometrial level, by increasing the number of oestrogen receptors in the cytoplasm. After 3 days of progesterone priming, the number of endometrial oestrogen receptors was found to be three times higher (P<0·05, Student's t-test) than control values. This progesterone-induced oestrogen receptor molecule appears identical in its physicochemical properties (sedimentation coefficient, kinetic constants, steroid specificity) to that induced in the endometrium and myometrium under the influence of oestradiol. However, in the myometrium progesterone acts antagonistically reducing significantly (P< 0·001, Student's t-test) the oestradiol-induced increase in the number of oestrogen receptors.


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