Observations on the effects of prolactin on LH-receptors and steroidogenesis in corpus luteum and testis of the hypophysectomized rat

1982 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. C. van Straalen ◽  
G. H. Zeilmaker

Abstract. In this study the effects of hypophysectomy and autotransplantation of the pituitary gland on the concentration of hCG-binding sites (LH-receptors) and steroidogenesis in the corpus luteum and the testis of the rat were investigated. It was found that during pseudopregnancy both hCG-binding to homogenates of isolated corpora lutea and the progesterone levels in blood increase until day 7 and subsequently decrease until day 13. Hypophysectomy on day 5 led to a decrease of the number of LH-receptors and the serum progesterone level. By contrast hypophysectomy followed by autotransplantation of the pituitary gland increased the LH-receptor concentration and progesterone synthesis in spite of non-detectable LH-levels. Progesterone implants in hypophysectomized rats did not influence the number of LH-receptors. Hypophysectomy on day 0 without pituitary gland transplantation did not prevent the formation of some luteal LH-receptors measured on day 5 although progesterone was not secreted. A similar effect of prolactin secreted by pituitary autografts on LH-receptors was seen in the testis. The rapid decline of the number of binding sites normally observed after hypophysectomy was prevented by the presence of two pituitary autografts. Testosterone and LH-levels were non-detectable in the operated male rats. These data show that progesterone secretion by the corpora lutea is always associated with the presence of LH-receptors, regardless whether serum LH-levels are detectable or not. Moreover it appears that prolactin maintains or even increases the amount of LH-receptors in hypophysectomized male and female rats.

1963 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Zeilmaker

ABSTRACT The functional activity of artificially induced corpora lutea in isologous ovaries transplanted into castrated male rats has been studied. Criteria for progesterone production were the morphology of vaginal transplants and the distribution of sudanophilic material in the corpus luteum cells. It was found that spontaneous functional activity of the corpora lutea did not occur in short-term experiments. Progesterone production was observed, however, in animals also bearing an isotransplanted (either male or female) pituitary gland, and in animals which received daily injections of reserpine. It is suggested that the normal influence of the central nervous system on the secretion of luteotrophic hormone is inhibitory in male as well as in female animals. Some aspects of the induction and maintenance of luteal function in castrated male rats bearing a transplanted ovary have been studied and compared with similar phenomena in the female rat. A real pseudopregnancy, i. e. maintained by the pituitary in situ during a defined period, as can be observed in female rats, could not be induced in these animals. In animals also bearing an isografted pituitary gland, luteolysis was not observed in experiments lasting up to 45 days. It is suggested that these findings may be correlated with the way in which the luteinizing hormone is secreted in the male rat.


1964 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Zeilmaker

ABSTRACT Some aspects of the regulation of function of artificially induced corpora lutea in androgen-sterilized female rats have been studied. The morphology of the vaginal epithelium and the distribution of sudanophilic materials in the luteal cells served as criteria for possible corpus luteum function. Pseudopregnancy, i. e. corpus luteum function during a defined period, as can be observed in female rats after sterile copulation, could not be induced in androgen-sterilized rats by daily cervical stimulation, by three daily injections of reserpine or by the presence of an isotransplanted pituitary gland during the first four days after the induction of corpus luteum formation. Prolonged corpus luteum function during at least 45 days was observed in animals bearing an isotransplanted pituitary gland under the kidney capsule. It is suggested that the evenly distributed sudanophilia in these corpora lutea is a result of the »tonic LH secretion« of the pituitary gland in situ. Comparison with similar studies in male rats led to the conclusion that an ovulation-inducing release of gonadotrophins plays a major role in the termination of the luteal phase in normal female rats. In ovariectomized androgen-sterilized rats treated with progesterone and oestrone a decreased response of the uterus to a traumatic stimulus was noticed as compared with the response in similarly treated normal rats.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 399-416
Author(s):  
Nurhayat Barlas ◽  
Emre Göktekin ◽  
Gözde Karabulut

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of di- n-hexyl phthalate (DHP) and di-cyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) on endocrine organs in rats. Oil control, 20-, 100-, and 500 mg/kg dose groups were selected and administered to pregnant rats on gestational days 6–19 by oral gavage. The neonatal stages of rats continued until postnatal day 20 and the- juvenile stages of rats continued until postnatal day of 32. The rats were allowed to mature until the neonatal and juvenile stages and there after, they were divided into four groups corresponding to the treatment levels. Body and organ weights were recorded, serum was collected, and thyroid, pancreas, pituitary gland, and adrenal gland were removed. There was a decrease in body weights in the 20- and 500mg/kg DHP and in the 20-mg/kg DCHP dose groups in neonatal male rats. In contrast, for female rats, there was an increase in body weights in the 100-mg/kg DCHP dose group and there was a decrease in body weights in the 500-mg/kg DHP dose group. Body weights were increased at 20 and 500 mg/kg in the DHP-exposed juvenile male rats. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were increased in neonatal male rats, while they were increased in the 100-mg/kg DHP group of neonatal and juvenile female rats. Serum triiodothyronine (T3) levels were increased at the high dose of DHP for neonatal male rats and at the low and high dose levels of DCHP for female rats. Serum thyroxine (T4) levels were increased in neonatal rats for DHP. Also, some histopathological changes were observed in the thyroid, pancreas, adrenal, and pituitary gland. In conclusion, it was shown that DHP and DCHP caused negative effects on T3, T4, and TSH hormone levels.


1978 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. VANDOREN ◽  
H. VAN BAELEN ◽  
G. VERHOEVEN ◽  
P. DE MOOR

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.


1969 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney J. Stolzenberg ◽  
Robert G. Eggert ◽  
Wayne H. Linkenheimer

ABSTRACT Female rats received pituitary autotransplants beneath the kidney capsule at 11 to 12 weeks of age or were hypophysectomized only at the metoestrous stage of the cycle. Subcutaneous injections of oestradiol benzoate (OB) were started 30 to 40 days following surgery in the first 3 experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, Series 1 injections consisted of 50, 50 and 25 μg of OB given subcutaneously on days 0, 3 and 5. Series 2 injections were the same as Series 1 but given on days 16, 19 and 21. Pituitary grafts were removed from half of the rats on day 15 in Experiment 1. Ovarian weights were obtained on day 28. In Experiment 3, the dose of OB was raised to 100 μg per injection giving a total of 300 μg for each series. In Experiment 4, hypophysectomized rats without pituitary autotransplants were given Series 1 and 2 OB injections at the level of 125 μg per series. In Experiment 5, subcutaneous injections of OB were started 5 to 7 days following pituitary autotransplant. Rats were injected daily with 50 μg for 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 days, with autopsies following 4 or 5 days after the last injection. In Experiment 6, 50 μg was injected daily in hypophysectomized rats without pituitary transplants for 5 and 20 days. The immediate effect of OB injections into rats bearing pituitary autografts was a significant (P < 0.01) increase in ovarian weight. Long term treatment (> 40 days) caused a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in ovarian weight. Short term treatment followed by a 23 or 35 day period of no treatment gave an even greater decrease in ovarian weight (P < 0.01). Hypophysectomized rats showed no effect on ovarian weights with similar OB treatments, indicating the importance of the pituitary gland in this response. Removal of the autotransplanted pituitary gland 10 days after the first series was completed, had no apparent effect on regression of the corpora lutea. There was no effect on adrenal weight in any of the experiments. It is suggested that oestrogens initiate a process which ultimately results in luteal regression in rats bearing pituitary autografts.


1980 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. DIONNE ◽  
J. Y. DUBÉ ◽  
G. FRENETTE ◽  
R. R. TREMBLAY

Hormonal regulation of cytosolic oestradiol-binding sites in the levator ani bulbocavernosus (LA/BC) muscles of male rats and in thigh muscles from male and female rats was investigated. Twenty-four hours after gonadectomy and/or adrenalectomy, the number of unoccupied oestradiol-binding sites was significantly increased in cytosols prepared from LA/BC muscles while these treatments had no effect on thigh muscles from male rats. Only a combination of both treatments led to a significant increase of oestradiol-binding sites in cytosols prepared from the thigh muscles of female rats when compared with those of intact rats at dioestrus. The number of oestradiol-binding sites in the thigh muscles of female rats was found to vary during the oestrous cycle with values significantly lower at pro-oestrus than at dioestrus. The increase in oestradiol-binding sites observed in cytosols prepared from muscles of adrenalectomized or gonadectomized plus adrenalectomized rats was prevented by an injection of corticosterone (3 mg, s.c.) at the time of surgery. Twenty-one days after gonad and/or adrenal ablation, the mean concentration of oestradiol-binding sites in the three tissues under study was higher than in these tissues from intact rats, and in some groups the levels of oestradiol-binding sites were significantly higher than they had been 24 h after the same surgical treatments. Muscles from male rats hypophysectomized for 28 days possessed levels of oestradiol-binding sites equivalent to male rats deprived of steroid hormones for 21 days. Dexamethasone treatment of male rats (100 μg/day for 14 days) led to a progressive decrease of oestradiol-binding sites of LA/BC and thigh muscles. This study has shown that adrenal and gonadal hormones exert both short- and long-acting repressive effects on the oestradiol-binding capacity of rat muscles.


2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (3) ◽  
pp. G646-G655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis R. Simon ◽  
John Fortune ◽  
Mieko Iwahashi ◽  
Eileen Sutherland

Hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity is higher in female than in male rats. Although sex steroids, thyroid, and growth hormone (GH) have been shown to regulate hepatic ADH, the mechanism(s) for sexual dimorphic expression is unclear. We tested the possibility that the GH secretory pattern determined differential expression of ADH. Gonadectomized and hypophysectomized male and female rats were examined. Hepatic ADH activity was 2.1-fold greater in females. Because protein and mRNA content were also 1.7- and 2.4-fold greater, results indicated that activity differences were due to pretranslational mechanisms. Estradiol increased ADH selectively in males, and testosterone selectively decreased activity and mRNA levels in females. Effect of sex steroids on ADH was lost after hypophysectomy; infusion of GH in males increased ADH to basal female levels, supporting a role of the pituitary-liver axis. However, GH andl-thyroxine (T4) replacements alone in hypophysectomized rats did not restore dimorphic differences for either ADH activity or mRNA levels. On the other hand, T4 in combination with intermittent administration of GH reduced ADH activity and mRNA to basal male values, whereas T4 plus GH infusion replicated female levels. These results indicate that the intermittent male pattern of GH secretion combined with T4 is the principal determinant of low ADH activity in male liver.


1966 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Denamur ◽  
J. Martinet ◽  
R. V. Short

ABSTRACT The purpose of these experiments was to investigate the part played by the pituitary gland and the uterus in the control of the corpus luteum in the sheep. Six experiments were carried out, as follows: Hypophysectomy early and late in the oestrous cycle. Hypophysectomy on days 2–5 allowed the corpus luteum to continue secreting normal amounts of progesterone for up to 9 days, but thereafter the secretion declined. Hypophysectomy on days 9–10 caused the progesterone secretion to fall within 4 days. Thus it seems that the corpus luteum has a limited functional life span, and it normally requires the presence of a pituitary luteotrophin during the second half of the oestrous cycle if it is to secrete normally for 15 days. Pituitary stalk section early and late in the oestrous cycle. Regardless of the time of stalk section, the corpus luteum behaves as it would during a normal cycle. Thus pituitary stalk section does not produce the same effect as hypophysectomy, and seems to allow the severed pituitary gland to continue secreting luteotrophin. Hypophysectomy and hysterectomy carried out simultaneously early in the cycle. The results were similar to those in 1, progesterone secretion having declined significantly by days 12–15. This confirms that the declining secretory activity is due to a deficiency of pituitary luteotrophin, and not to any uterine luteolytic effect in this experiment. Pituitary stalk section and hysterectomy carried out simultaneously early in the cycle. In striking contrast to 3, some corpora lutea were still secreting progesterone normally on day 18. This shows once again that the isolated pituitary gland can continue to secrete luteotrophin. The different responses in this experiment and 2 emphasise the fact that the uterine luteolytic effect is normally dominant to the pituitary luteotrophic stimulus. Thus it would be impossible to demonstrate luteotrophic activity if the uterus were still present. Hysterectomy carried out at mid cycle, followed by hypophysectomy 20–30 days later. Whilst hysterectomy alone prolongs the secretory activity of the corpus luteum, subsequent hypophysectomy results in a rapid decline in progesterone secretion, commencing 48 hours after the operation. Thus the corpora lutea prolonged by hysterectomy, unlike those of the normal cycle, require daily pituitary luteotrophin secretion for their continued existence. Hysterectomy carried out at mid cycle, followed by pituitary stalk section 20–30 days later. Unlike 5, stalk section allows the corpora lutea to continue to secrete progesterone in large amounts for at least 15 days after the operation. This experiment, together with 2 and 4, once again emphasises that the stalk-sectioned pituitary gland can continue to secrete luteotrophin, at least for a time. These experiments therefore support the view that the cyclical corpus luteum of the sheep is under a dual control. There is a pituitary luteotrophin, whose secretion continues after stalk section, and a uterine luteolysin that is dominant to the luteotrophic stimulus, and can still function normally after pituitary stalk section. The fact that the corpus luteum of the hysterectomised animal cannot function for more than about 15 days after stalk section suggests that the luteotrophic stimulus may be complex, possibly envolving more than one hormone.


1989 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Deis ◽  
E. Leguizamon ◽  
G. A. Jahn

ABSTRACT We have previously found that modifications to serum progesterone concentration have profound inhibitory effects on prolactin release in response to ether stress. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of ether stress on progesterone secretion and the role of this steroid in ether-induced prolactin release. Serum progesterone concentration, 5 min after ether stress had been applied over a 2-min period, was consistently increased in male rats, in cyclic rats on the mornings of pro-oestrus and oestrus, and in androgenized rats in permanent oestrus. Ovariectomized androgenized rats showed the same response. Adrenalectomy of male and female rats abolished the progesterone increase induced by stress. Thus, the progesterone secreted by stressed rats is mostly of adrenal origin. In groups of male and pro-oestrous rats, circulating concentrations of prolactin and progesterone were measured from 5 to 60 min after stress. In both sexes the serum prolactin concentration was significantly increased at only 5 and 10 min after stress when compared with control values. In pro-oestrous rats the serum progesterone concentration was significantly higher than in controls at 5, 10 and 20 min after stress, whilst in male rats the concentration remained significantly higher at 30 min. Thirty minutes after the first stress, male and pro-oestrous rats were etherized for 2 min, and bled 5 min after removal from the ether container. In female rats this second stress produced only a slight but significant increase in serum prolactin concentrations, whereas in male rats prolactin concentrations did not increase. The second stress was still capable of significantly increasing circulating progesterone concentrations to levels similar to those obtained after the first stress in animals from all groups. Thus, an increased circulating progesterone concentration did not lead to regulation of further progesterone secretion. To find whether this type of response was due to a blocking effect of the previously released progesterone, animals were injected with the anti-progesterone RU 38486 (17β-hydroxy-11β-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-17α-propinyl-oestra-4,9-dien-3-one) or with a specific antibody raised against progesterone. In both groups of treated rats the second stress induced a significant increase in serum prolactin and progesterone concentrations to give values similar to those obtained after the first stress. When the second stress was applied to female rats 60 min after the first the prolactin response was comparable to that obtained after the first exposure to ether. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that serum prolactin and progesterone concentrations are significantly increased after ether stress, and that the latter hormone exerts an inhibitory regulatory feedback on prolactin secretion. These results provide an important new insight into the role of progesterone in the regulation of prolactin release. Journal of Endocrinology (1989) 120, 37–43


1966 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Barnafi ◽  
H. Croxatto

ABSTRACT The vasopressor and oxytocic activities in the posterior lobes of the pituitary gland were found to be markedly higher in female than in male rats. Whereas adrenalectomy decreased these activities in the males, it produced no changes in the female. Gonadectomy lowered the vasopressor activity in males, but had no effect on oxytocic activity. Ovariectomy decreased oxytocic activity, but produced no significant changes in vasopressor activity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document