THE EFFECTS OF SEX STEROIDS ON THE PROLACTIN CONTENT OF HYPOPHYSES AND SERUM IN RATS

1963 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. L. Wolthuis
Keyword(s):  
Sex Steroids ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Mature Male ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
List Type ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate ◽  
Prolactin Content ◽  
Pituitary Prolactin

ABSTRACT Prolactin determinations have been carried out on the hypophyses and serum of rats. It was found that: Hypophyses of intact mature female rats contain almost twice as much prolactin as those of mature female rats spayed two months previously. The pituitary prolactin content in these spayed female rats is virtually identical with that of intact or castrated mature male rats. Treatment of intact mature female rats with oestradiol benzoate (50 μg daily for one week) considerably increases the prolactin content in the hypophyses and serum. Treatment of spayed mature female rats with sex steroids for two weeks shows that: oestradiol benzoate (50 μg daily) increases the prolactin content in the hypophyses and serum; testosterone propionate (2 mg daily) also increases the prolactin content in the hypophyses and serum, although the increases found were smaller than those obtained with the above-mentioned dose of oestradiol; progesterone (5 mg daily) did not significantly alter the pituitary prolactin content, whereas a highly suggestive increase was found in the serum content. From the results it was concluded that: Physiological amounts of androgens do not affect the prolactin function of the hypophysis, whereas physiological amounts of oestrogens do affect it. All three sex steroids investigated increase prolactin production in and secretion from the hypophysis. A negative feedback seems to be absent.

The role of sex steroids in the formation of sex-differentiated concentrations of corticosteroid-binding globulin in rats

1992 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Mataradze ◽  
R. M. Kurabekova ◽  
V. B. Rozen
Keyword(s):  
Sex Steroids ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Corticosteroid Binding Globulin

ABSTRACT The role of sex steroids in the programming of the level of serum corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) in the rat has been studied at different stages of ontogenesis. The CBG content in the serum of mature female rats was 2·5 times higher than that in male rats. Sexual dimorphism of CBG content was absent in immature animals of 3–4 weeks of age. Castration of mature rats led to a 40–50% increase in CBG content. The CBG concentration in mature females or castrated adult males treated with testosterone propionate (TP; 3 mg/day for 4 days) was decreased by 40–50% compared with vehicle-treated rats. Oestradiol injection (1 μg/day for 4 days) had no influence on CBG levels in mature male and ovariectomized adult female rats. Immature rats were castrated on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 28 or 35 of age and the CBG level was determined at 10–12 weeks of age. The CBG content of rats castrated up to day 28 of age was 2·5 times higher than that in mature males and did not differ from that in mature females. The CBG content of male rats castrated on day 35 of age was the same as that of adult castrated males. The CBG level in castrated rats treated with TP (1·25 mg for days 1–3 or 300 μg/day for 5 days after castration at day 7 up to day 26) did not differ from that in controls (i.e. vehicle-treated rats). TP injection into castrated rats on days 29–33 of age (300 μg/day) led to a 40–50% decrease in CBG level when compared with controls. Ovariectomy of rats at different ages (on days 1 or 28 or 3 months) did not affect CBG concentration. TP injection (300 μg/day) into ovariectomized rats on days 29–33 had the same effect on CBG concentration as in males. Gonadectomized rats treated with diethylstilboestrol on days 29–33 (100 μg/day) had the same CBG concentrations as TP-treated rats. It was concluded that there is a short period during ontogenesis, from days 29 to 35 of age, which is critical for irreversible masculinization of the CBG concentration in male rats. Journal of Endocrinology (1992) 132, 235–240

scholarly journals Different mechanisms of regulation of nuclear reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent 3-oxo steroid 5α-reductase activity in rat liver, kidney and prostate

1974 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Åke Gustafsson ◽  
Åke Pousette
Keyword(s):  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Regulatory Mechanisms ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate ◽  
Liver And Kidney ◽  
Reduced Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide ◽  
Hydroxy Steroid

The regulatory mechanisms involved in the control of the nuclear NADPH-dependent 3-ketosteroid 5α-reductase (5α-reductase) activity were studied in liver, kidney and prostate. The substrate used was [1,2-3H]androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (androstenedione) (for liver and kidney) or [4-14C]androstenedione (for prostate). The hepatic nuclear 5α-reductase activity was greater in female than in male rats, was greater in adult than in prepubertal female rats, increased after castration of male rats, but was not affected by treatment with testosterone propionate or oestradiol benzoate. These regulatory characteristics are in part different from those previously described for the hepatic microsomal 5α-reductase. The renal nuclear metabolism of androstenedione, i.e. 5α reduction and 17β-hydroxy steroid reduction, was relatively unaffected by sex, age, castration and treatment with testosterone propionate. However, treatment of castrated male rats with oestradiol benzoate led to a significant increase in the 5α-reductase activity and a significant decrease in the 17β-hydroxy steroid reductase activity. Finally, the nuclear 5α-reductase activity in prostate was androgen-dependent, decreasing after castration and increasing after treatment with testosterone propionate. In conclusion, the nuclear 5α-reductase activities in liver, kidney and prostate seem to be under the control of distinctly different regulatory mechanisms. The hypothesis is presented that whereas the prostatic nuclear 5α-reductase participates in the formation of a physiologically active androgen, 5α-dihydrotestosterone, this may not be the true function of the nuclear 5α-reductase in liver and kidney. These enzymes might rather serve to protect the androgen target sites in the chromatin from active androgens (e.g. testosterone) by transforming them into less active androgens (e.g. 5α-androstane-3,17-dione and/or 5α-dihydrotestosterone).

INFLUENCE OF SEX HORMONES ON AMIDINOTRANSFERASE LEVELS. METABOLIC CONTROL OF CREATINE BIOSYNTHESIS

1966 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
István Kriskó ◽  
James B. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Hormonal Control ◽  
Mature Male ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Enzyme Protein ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Mammalian Enzyme

ABSTRACT Arginine: glycine amidinotransferase is the first of two enzymes involved in creatine biosynthesis. The amidinotransferase specific activity (micromoles of hydroxyguanidine formed per hour per g wet weight of tissue) of kidney homogenates of mature male rats was about twice that of females of the same age, whereas activities were equal before puberty. Castration decreased the activity of males and increased that of females. The administration of testosterone propionate to young adult female rats resulted in a significant increase in enzyme activity. The same enzyme had previously been shown to be repressible by its end-product, creatine. Although there are numerous enzymes whose synthesis is known to be under hormonal control, amidinotransferase is the only mammalian enzyme described up to now on which there appears to operate both an end-product repression mechanism and a hormonal control on the de novo synthesis of the enzyme protein.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PITUITARY GLAND AND GONADAL STEROIDS: INVOLVEMENT OF A HYPOPHYSIAL FACTOR IN REDUCED α2u-GLOBULIN AND INCREASED TRANSCORTIN CONCENTRATIONS IN RAT SERUM

1978 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. VANDOREN ◽  
H. VAN BAELEN ◽  
G. VERHOEVEN ◽  
P. DE MOOR
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Gland ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Single Injection ◽  
Prolactin Secretion ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Rat Serum ◽  
Mediated Effects ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate

Evidence is presented that the level of α2u-globulin in the serum of male rats depends, at least in part, on neonatal androgens. After castration of adult animals the concentration of this protein falls but remains measurable, whereas in intact or ovariectomized female rats α2u-globulin cannot be detected. Moreover, α2u-globulin is found in adult male and female rats gonadectomized at birth and treated with a single injection of testosterone propionate immediately thereafter. The mechanism by which neonatal androgens increase the concentration of α2u-globulin has been investigated. Transplantation of a supplementary pituitary gland under the renal capsule of male rats resulted in reduced levels of α2u-globulin and increased levels of transcortin. The changes discussed here were observed only in those animals in which the transplant was functional and they were amplified or reversed by modulators of prolactin secretion such as oestrogens or bromocriptine respectively. The hypothesis is advanced that neonatal androgens stimulate the production of a hypothalamic inhibitory factor that controls the secretion of prolactin, or another hypophysial hormone subjected to similar neuroendocrine control. Measurements in gonadectomized animals and in rats receiving both oestradiol benzoate and bromocriptine indicate that, besides these pituitary-mediated effects, both oestrogens and androgens exert direct effects on the level of α2u-globulin.

LORDOSIS BEHAVIOUR IN MALE, FEMALE AND ANDROGENIZED FEMALE RATS

1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. SÖDERSTEN
Keyword(s):  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Normal Female ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Lordosis Behaviour ◽  
Dose Dependent

SUMMARY Sex differences in the lordosis response of adult rats to ovarian hormones were studied in a series of experiments. Male rats were less sensitive to oestradiol benzoate (OB, a single injection of 10, 100 or 1000 μg/kg or seven daily injections of 2, 10 or 50 μg/kg) than were female rats. Oestradiol benzoate-primed (10 μg/kg) female, but not male, rats showed dose-dependent responses to progesterone (0·4, 2·0 or 10·0 mg/kg). Male rats responded clearly to progesterone (2 mg/rat) only when primed with a high dose of OB (100 μg/rat). Display of the whole pattern of female sexual behaviour was induced in male rats by treatment with 100 μg OB and 2 mg progesterone. Female rats treated with 1 mg testosterone propionate (TP) on day 4 of life, ovariectomized as adults and tested under the same endocrine conditions as the rats described above, retained behavioural OB sensitivity but responded poorly to progesterone. Evidence is presented that ovarian secretions during development significantly modify the response of neonatally TP-treated and normal female rats to OB in adulthood.

EFFECTS OF DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE AND OESTRADIOL ON SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN MALE RATS

1980 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. VAN DER SCHOOT
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Differentiation ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Neonatal Period ◽  
Combined Treatment ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Normal Male ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Copulatory Behaviour

Adult male rats which had been castrated at birth and treated with the non-aromatizable androgen dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP) showed incomplete copulatory behaviour. When tested with oestrous female rats during treatment with testosterone propionate (TP) they readily mounted these females and showed frequent penile intromissions but rarely ejaculated. In a long series of observations the proportion of ejaculating rats in tests of 30 min did not exceed 50%. Neonatally castrated rats treated with DHTP during infancy thus seemed to be capable of ejaculation in adulthood during treatment with TP, but the threshold for the occurrence of the ejaculatory reflex seemed to be higher than in normal male rats. By replacing treatment in adulthood with TP by a combined treatment with DHTP and oestradiol benzoate (OB), the frequency of ejaculation was not increased. It was concluded that the incomplete copulatory behaviour was not due to reduced efficiency of aromatization of androgen within the brain of these rats. The addition of OB to DHTP during the neonatal period of treatment enhanced the frequency of ejaculation in adulthood. The combined treatment of 0·1 mg DHTP on days 1, 3 and 5 with 0·01 mg OB on day 1 made adult copulatory behaviour during treatment with TP indistinguishable from that of rats castrated on day 10 or rats castrated at birth and treated with TP during infancy. It was concluded that the masculine organization of systems and structures involved in the display of male copulatory behaviour occurs under the influence of both non-aromatizable androgen and oestrogen, oestrogen being most likely the substance required to 'organize' the central nervous aspects of the regulation of this behaviour. The absence neonatally of nonaromatizable androgen and/or oestrogen results in specific deficiencies in adult copulatory behaviour as compared with the behaviour of normal male rats.

SEX DIFFERENCES AND HORMONAL CONTROL OF TESTOSTERONE METABOLISM IN RAT PITUITARY AND BRAIN

1973 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARL DENEF ◽  
CAREW MAGNUS ◽  
B. S. McEWEN
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Hormonal Control ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Testosterone Metabolism ◽  
Conversion Rates ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate

SUMMARY The in-vitro conversion of testosterone to 17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one (5α-dihydrotestosterone, DHT) and 3α, 17β-dihydroxy-5α-androstane (3α-androstanediol, DIOL) in pituitary and slices of brain regions was compared between male and female rats. Intact pituitaries from male rats formed 2·5 times more DHT and 1·5 times more DIOL than those of females. A small sex difference was also detected in the hypothalamus, males again being higher than females. No sex differences could be detected in other brain regions. However, DHT formation in the brain was regionally differentiated with higher conversion rates in hypothalamus than in cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, pineal gland or cerebellum. The highest transformation, however, was found in the mid-brain. Metabolism in the pre-optic area was as low as that in the cortex. 5α-Dihydrotestosterone and DIOL formation in the pituitary increased several-fold after gonadectomy in both sexes and the sex difference disappeared. Little or no increase occurred after thyroidectomy or adrenalectomy. The increase in pituitary DHT formation after gonadectomy could be attenuated or prevented both by treatment with testosterone propionate and with oestradiol benzoate. Replacement therapy, particularly with oestradiol benzoate, gave rise to a sex difference reminiscent of that of normal animals. No significant change in pituitary DHT formation occurred in adult females which had been treated with testosterone propionate on the 4th day of life. The results suggested a close relationship between DHT formation and activity of gonadotrophin secretion, particularly at the level of the pituitary.

OESTROGEN RESPONSES OF RATS NEONATALLY STERILIZED WITH STEROIDS

1969 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. WRENN ◽  
JOAN R. WOOD ◽  
J. BITMAN
Keyword(s):  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Uterine Weight ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate

SUMMARY At 75 days of age, female rats neonatally sterilized with oestradiol benzoate or testosterone propionate were compared with normal and ovariectomized rats with regard to their 6-hr. response to 0·2 μg. oestradiol 17β. The greatest increases in uterine weight, glucose and glycogen concentrations and per cent uterine water occurred in the ovariectomized animals. A marked oestrogen response also occurred in the animals neonatally sterilized with oestradiol benzoate. The response of the normal rats was slight, and the testosterone propionate-treated rats were the least affected. Adrenal, pituitary, and ovarian weights were found to be affected by the neonatal hormone treatments. Vaginal patency was completely inhibited in the rats injected with testosterone propionate. It is concluded that rats neonatally sterilized with steroids are much less suitable than ovariectomized animals for oestrogen assays.

scholarly journals Comparative effects of testosterone propionate, oestradiol benzoate, ICI 182,780, tamoxifen and raloxifene on hypothalamic differentiation in the female rat

2002 ◽  
Vol 172 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Pinilla ◽  
ML Barreiro ◽  
LC Gonzalez ◽  
M Tena-Sempere ◽  
E Aguilar
Keyword(s):  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Female Rat ◽  
Vaginal Opening ◽  
Ici 182,780 ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate ◽  
Normal Differentiation

Hypothalamic differentiation in the female rat during the neonatal period is critically dependent on the steroid milieu, as permanent changes in reproductive function are observed after administration of oestradiol and testosterone during such a critical stage. Selective oestrogen modulators (SERMs) constitute a family of drugs that, depending on the tissue, are able to exert oestrogenic or antioestrogenic actions. The present experiments were conducted to analyse whether the SERMs, tamoxifen and raloxifene, can cause oestrogenic actions during the hypothalamic differentiation period. Postnatal female rats were injected between days 1 and 5 with 100 microg/day tamoxifen, raloxifene or ICI 182,780 (a pure antioestrogen). Other groups of animals were injected on day 1 of age with 100 microg oestradiol benzoate (OeB) or 1.25 mg testosterone propionate (TP) alone or in combination with raloxifene (500 microg/day between days 1 and 5). In all experimental groups, the age, body weight and concentrations of serum gonadotrophins at vaginal opening were recorded, whereas vaginal cyclicity and the negative and positive feedback between oestradiol and LH were monitored in adulthood. The results obtained confirmed the ability of high doses of OeB or TP to alter the normal differentiation of the brain permanently. They also reinforced the hypothesis that oestrogens are also necessary for normal brain differentiation in female rats because administration of a pure antioestrogen, such as ICI 182,780 permanently altered the function of the reproductive axis. In addition, our data provided evidence for different actions of the two SERMs under analysis (raloxifene and tamoxifen) upon peripheral targets, as raloxifene advanced vaginal opening whereas tamoxifen did not. In contrast, their actions on brain differentiation appeared similar and analogous to those obtained after neonatal administration of oestradiol, as evidenced by vaginal acyclicity, ovarian atrophy, sterility and abolition of negative and positive feedback between oestradiol and LH, thus suggesting an oestrogenic action of these SERMs on hypothalamic differentiation. Moreover, the oestrogenic activity of raloxifene was supported by its inability to block the effects of OeB and TP administered neonatally. In conclusion, the present results indicated that the SERMs, tamoxifen and raloxifene, exert an oestrogen-like effect upon hypothalamic differentiation of the neonatal female rat.

EFFECTS OF TESTOSTERONE MEDIATED OR MODULATED BY PITUITARY FACTORS

1975 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. DE MOOR ◽  
M. ADAM-HEYLEN ◽  
H. VAN BAELEN ◽  
G. VERHOEVEN
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Total Body Weight ◽  
Seminal Vesicles ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Organ Weights ◽  
Total Body

SUMMARY Adult rats of both sexes were either gonadectomized or hypophysectomized and gonadectomized. Three to eight weeks later they were treated for 14 consecutive days with oil or with 75 or 200 μg testosterone propionate (TP) per 100 g body weight. The animals were killed and for each sex the gonadectomized animals were compared with the hypophysectomized-gonadectomized animals as far as their NADPH- and NADH-dependent 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (3α-HSD) in renal microsomes, transcortin levels in serum and five organ weights relative to total body weight were concerned. For two of the latter, i.e. the relative kidney and prostatic weights, no significant differences were found. Transcortin levels, relative adrenal weights and renal NADPH-dependent 3α-HSD activities were higher in oil-treated gonadectomized animals than in oil-treated hypophysectomized-gonadectomized animals. The opposite was found for the relative weights of uterus and seminal vesicles and renal NADH-dependent 3α-HSD activities. These differences between gonadectomized and hypophysectomized-gonadectomized animals disappeared after TP treatment as far as transcortin levels were concerned but remained for the five other parameters. After gonadectomy sexual differences subsisted for all parameters studied. But whereas intact male rats had higher NADH-dependent 3α-HSD activities than female rats the opposite was found after gonadectomy. After gonadectomy plus hypophysectomy the between sex differences disappeared as far as transcortin levels were concerned but remained in the other parameters studied.

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