SERUM CORTICOSTERONE IN RATS WITH DELAYED ANOVULATION

1976 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUDITH A. RAMALEY

SUMMARY The purpose of this study was to investigate adrenal function in rats during the development of persistent oestrus to determine whether a change in blood levels of corticosterone would precede or coincide with the onset of infertility. The syndrome of delayed persistent oestrus and anovulation was induced by administration of a low dose (10 μg) of testosterone propionate (TP) at 5 days of age. Control animals were handled without injection or received the vehicle (sesame oil) only. Half of each group was ovariectomized at weaning and received Silastic implants of either oestradiol benzoate (OB) or cholesterol, 3 mm tube length/100 g body weight. Intact rats given the low TP dose showed precocious vaginal opening (27·3 ± 2·1 days v. 37·6 ± 2·4 (s.e.m.) days in unhandled controls) and ovulated within 2 days. Persistent vaginal cornification developed in 22 out of 26 rats by 75 days of age. The TP-treated rats had higher corticosterone values than the controls and did not show a further increase after OB implantation. Cholesterol implantation depressed corticosterone levels in the TP-treated rats. The effects of the low TP dose were not dependent upon gonadal function since they persisted in ovariectomized rats. The results suggest that early exposure to androgen can modify the sensitivity of the adrenal system to oestrogen, and can also lead to persistently high values of corticosterone which are not depressed by ovariectomy. These changes precede the onset of persistent oestrus.

1969 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. WRENN ◽  
JOAN R. WOOD ◽  
J. BITMAN

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.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (1) ◽  
pp. G185-G190
Author(s):  
R. Khanna ◽  
R. M. Browne ◽  
A. D. Heiner ◽  
M. H. Clench ◽  
J. R. Mathias

Leuprolide acetate, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue, is currently being proposed to control debilitating symptoms in women with functional bowel disease. Whether leuprolide alters gastrointestinal motility as part of its actions is unknown. This study was designed to assess, using myoelectric techniques in an animal model, the effects of leuprolide on potential mechanisms of neuromuscular function of small intestine. Female rats with (n = 6) or without (n = 8) bilateral ovariectomy were used to study jejunal motility before and after leuprolide therapy. Throughout the study, daily leuprolide dosages of 0.02, 0.2, or 0.4 micrograms/kg were injected into intact rats and 0.02, 0.2, 0.4, 1.0, or 2.5 micrograms/kg into ovariectomized rats. Recordings were made while the rats were fasted and postprandial and before and after leuprolide administration. Under control conditions, migrating myoelectric complexes (MMCs) were found in intact female rats, whether fasted or postprandial. After ovariectomy, postprandial controls and those treated with low-dose leuprolide (0.02, 0.2, and 0.4 micrograms) had typical fed-state patterns and no MMCs, but at 1.0 and 2.5 micrograms the fed state was inhibited and cycling MMCs occurred at a frequency similar to that of fasted controls. Reproductive hormones thus have a significant effect on gastrointestinal motility.


2002 ◽  
Vol 172 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Pinilla ◽  
ML Barreiro ◽  
LC Gonzalez ◽  
M Tena-Sempere ◽  
E Aguilar

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.


1976 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 652-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Tarttelin ◽  
J. E. Shryne ◽  
R. A. Gorski

ABSTRACT There was no significant difference in body weight between neonatally ovariectomized (OvX) rats whether given oil treatment or 90 μg testosterone propionate (TP) on day 3, when examined up to 23 weeks of age. When these two animals were injected with oestradiol benzoate (3 μg/day for 2 weeks), the neonatally OvX TP treated rats showed a significantly smaller depression in body weight than did the control neonatally OxX rats. Measurement of food intake also showed that TP treated rats responded significantly less to the depressant effects of oestrogen than did the controls. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the ovary does restrain body weight in TP rats but that androgen treatment in the neonatal period may not have a specific effect on growth but may alter the sensitivity of growth regulating processes to the inhibitory effects of oestrogen.


1987 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Södersten ◽  
P. Eneroth

ABSTRACT Ovariectomy and treatment with oestradiol benzoate (10 μg OB) on the day before behavioural oestrus eliminated the preovulatory surge of LH and reduced the level of sexual receptivity on the following day. Sexual behaviour, but not the LH surge, was restored by progesterone (0·5 mg) given 18 h later. Injection of OB on the day after behavioural oestrus induced a small release of LH and normal sexual behaviour on the following day. Ovariectomy on the day after behavioural oestrus reduced the stimulatory effect of OB on sexual behaviour and eliminated its weakly stimulatory effect on LH release. Sexual behaviour, but not the small LH surge, was restored in these animals by progesterone (0·5 mg) given 18 h later. Treatment of rats ovariectomized 2 days before the day of the LH surge with implants containing oestradiol or injections of oestradiol (1 μg) induced LH surges but the amplitudes of these LH surges were much smaller than those of the normal LH surge. Treatment of intact rats with OB increased serum progesterone levels 24 h later, an effect which was eliminated by ovariectomy. Injections of LH (20 μg) into intact rats on the day after behavioural oestrus also increased serum progesterone concentrations but failed to stimulate sexual behaviour. It is suggested that OB treatment of intact rats on the day after behavioural oestrus stimulates sexual behaviour by inducing a surge of LH secretion which activates ovarian secretion of progesterone. Thus, oestrogen and progesterone but not the LH surge are essential for sexual behaviour. Whereas oestradiol and progesterone restore normal sexual behaviour in ovariectomized rats, additional ovarian factors may be required for induction of normal LH surges. J. Endocr. (1987) 112, 133–138


1960 ◽  
Vol XXXIII (I) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Stucki ◽  
A. D. Forbes

ABSTRACT 17α-Hydroxyprogesterone acetate (AP) and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (HPC) were found to be incapable of maintaining pregnancy in ovariectomized rats when administered alone, even if administration of the drugs was started several days prior to surgery. Further studies with AP demonstrated that it could maintain pregnancy in the castrate rat when oestrone or testosterone propionate (TP) were concomitantly administered. The addition of TP to a regimen of concomitant AP and oestrone did not result in further improvement in the quality of pregnancy maintenance. TP and oestrone alone or together were incapable of maintaining pregnancy. Parturition could be delayed or prevented in intact rats with either progesterone or TP when administration of the steroids was started 3 days before the date of expected delivery. HPC and AP alone or with oestrone, and oestrone alone did not delay parturition when administration was begun late in pregnancy. Parturition was prevented when administration of AP was begun at least 11 days before expected delivery.


1977 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Lisk ◽  
Lawrence A. Reuter

ABSTRACT Pituitary retention of [3H]oestradiol in ovariectomized rats was measured following in vivo progesterone pre-treatment and found to be significantly increased after 48, 72, 96 and 120 h of pre-treatment. Increased [3H]oestradiol retention was also observed for at least up to 72 h after removal of the progesterone pre-treatment source. This retention was measured as dpm per mg dry tissue weight. [3H]Oestradiol retention was also measured in the nuclear fraction of tissues incubated with [3H]oestradiol in vitro. Following 72 h of in vivo progesterone pre-treatment, the nuclear fraction from the pituitary was found to retain significantly more [3H]oestradiol than corresponding fractions from non-treated animals. In contrast to ovariectomized females, no increase in [3H]oestradiol retention was found in the pituitary of orchidectomized males pre-treated with progesterone for 72 h. [3H]Oestradiol retention by pituitaries of ovariectomized rats injected on the day of birth with 200 μg oestradiol benzoate (OeB) or 500 μg testosterone propionate (TP) was significantly decreased in comparison to control animals. When the rats were pre-treated in vivo with oestradiol for 6 or 72 h and [3H]oestradiol retention was measured 6 or 24 h after this pre-treatment, the OeB and TP treated animals retained significantly less [3H]oestradiol under most treatment conditions. Progesterone pretreatment for 24 or 72 h in vivo followed by measurement of [3H]oestradiol retention immediately or 6 or 24 h later resulted in a significant increase in [3H]oestradiol retention for the control animals. In contrast, the neonatally OeB or TP treated animals differed significantly by not showing increased retention. When [3H]oestradiol retention of the pituitary was measured in vitro following homogenization at 0°C and incubation at 37°C for 1 h, the nuclear fraction from both OeB and TP treated animals was found to retain less hormone per unit DNA; however, this decrease was significant only for the TP animals. Thus, males and androgen- or oestrogensterilized females have an altered and reduced augmentation of pituitary oestradiol retention in response to both oestrogen and progesterone pretreatments.


1987 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryuhei Hashimoto ◽  
Fukuko Kimura

Abstract. Experiments were designed to see how a transplantation of newborn norepinephrine (NE) neurons from A-6 groups or dopamine (DA) neurons from A-10 groups in the third ventricle at the level of the preoptic region affected the vaginal oestrous cycle and gonadotropin secretion in the female rat. Sixty-two rats that had tissues in contact with the preoptic region were evaluated as having surviving transplants by histological examination after sacrifice. The rats that had surviving NE-neuron transplants frequently showed prolongation of oestrus during the 70-day study period, indicating that ovulation was severely impaired in these rats. However, after ovariectomy, they showed a pulsatile secretion of LH with a remarkably large amplitude. The DA-neuron transplants sustained the oestrous cycle unchanged, but increased blood levels of FSH prior to the ovulatory secretion of gonadotropin. Pulsatile LH secretion was not affected. Sham and cerebellum control rats did not show any significant changes in the oestrous cycle. The results suggest that the NEneuron transplants at the preoptic region somehow inhibit gonadotropin secretion in intact rats, whereas they facilitate it in ovariectomized rats. The DA-neuron transplants appear to exert facilitatory effects on FSH secretion in intact rats.


1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. ECKSTEIN ◽  
S. YEHUD ◽  
J. SHANI ◽  
G. GOLDHABER

SUMMARY The effect of 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol, its 3β epimer and oestradiol benzoate on suppression of LH release after ovariectomy was studied in immature rats. At doses of 50 and 100 μg/100 g body weight/day the 3α compound suppressed LH release after ovariectomy to the same extent as 0·1 μg oestradiol benzoate/100 g/day. 3α-Androstanediol at a dose of 25 μg/100 g/day suppressed LH release only up to day 45 of life, while the same dose of the 3β epimer had no effect on LH suppression. The effect of 3β-androstanediol on inducing precocious vaginal opening was found to be mediated by the ovaries, since it was eliminated by ovariectomy. These results confirm our previous findings on the participation of androstanediol in the normal regulation of LH and in the mechanism of onset of puberty in the rat.


1960 ◽  
Vol XXXV (II) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. van Rees ◽  
F. J. A. Paesi

ABSTRACT In the experiments reported in this paper the hypothesis that the decrease in the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content, which occurs after administration of steroid sex hormones in gonadectomized animals, is counteracted by a reflex stimulation of the hypophysis initiated by the operation has been investigated. If treatment with a low dose of testosterone propionate (100 μg) was started immediately after castration, the resulting decrease in the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content became more marked if the reflex stimulation of the hypophysis had been prevented. If, however, two months were allowed to elapse before the beginning of treatment, the presence or absence of this reflex was no longer of importance for the effect of testosterone propionate on the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content. And yet, in this case too, the decrease in the pituitary I. C. S. H.-content by testosterone propionate was less than in intact animals (see preceding paper). Hence this decrease appears to be counteracted by two factors: one rapidly occurring and short lasting, resulting from a reflex elicited by gonadectomy; the other gradually increasing in potency and possibly a direct consequence of the continued absence of pituitary inhibiting sex steroids.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document