EFFECTS OF OESTRADIOL AND PROGESTERONE ON THE CONCENTRATION OF α2-MACROGLOBULIN IN THE SERA OF INJURED MALE AND FEMALE RATS

1980 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. BELL

The effects of ovarian hormones on the synthesis of α2-macroglobulin in response to injury were investigated. After injection of turpentine to provoke synthesis of α2-macroglobulin, the mean concentrations of this protein in serum were lower in intact female than in male rats. Sera from injured ovariectomized rats contained levels of α2-macroglobulin similar to those of injured male animals. Administration to ovariectomized animals of oestradiol or oestradiol plus progesterone substantially reduced the levels of α2-macroglobulin produced in response to injury. Administration of progesterone only resulted in a small increase in the response of ovariectomized animals to injury. Oestradiol and progesterone had no effect on the response of male rats to injury. These findings suggest that only in the female rat can these steroid hormones, especially oestradiol, regulate the synthesis of α2-macroglobulin in response to tissue injury.

1978 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. THODY ◽  
H. DIJKSTRA

Sexually experienced male rats were used to test for whole body and preputial gland odours of female rats. The male rats clearly preferred whole body odours of intact female rats to those of preputialectomized female rats. The male rats also preferred the odour of preputial gland tissue of intact female rats to that of ovariectomized female rats and were especially attracted to the preputial gland odours of female rats in pro-oestrus and oestrus. The preputial gland odours of ovariectomized rats that had received oestradiol benzoate for 7 days were attractive to male rats, although similar treatment with progesterone was ineffective. However, a single injection of progesterone given 72 h after a single injection of oestradiol benzoate not only made ovariectomized rats receptive, but also made their preputial gland odours attractive to male rats. The results suggest that the preputial gland of the female rat is responsible for odours that serve to attract sexually experienced male rats. Ovarian steroids, as well as controlling receptivity in the female rat, would also appear to control the production of sex attractants in the preputial gland. There was no relationship between the size of the preputial glands and their ability to attract male rats which suggests that preputial gland growth and production of sex attractants are not under the same hormonal control.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Tozlovanu ◽  
Delphine Canadas ◽  
Annie Pfohl-Leszkowicz ◽  
Christine Frenette ◽  
Robert J. Paugh ◽  
...  

AbstractIn the present study the photoreactivity of the fungal carcinogen ochratoxin A (OTA) has been utilised to generate authentic samples of reduced glutathione (GSH) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) conjugates of the parent toxin. These conjugates, along with the nontoxic OTα, which is generated through hydrolysis of the amide bond of OTA by carboxypeptidase A, were utilised as biomarkers to study the metabolism of OTA in the liver and kidney of male and female Dark Agouti rats. Male rats are more susceptible than female rats to OTA carcinogenesis with the kidney being the target organ. Our studies show that the distribution of OTA in male and female rat kidney is not significantly different. However, the extent of OTA metabolism was greater in male than female rats. Much higher levels of OTα were detected in the liver compared to the kidney, and formation of OTα is a detoxification pathway for OTA. These findings suggest that differences in metabolism between male and female rats could provide an explanation for the higher sensitivity of male rats to OTA toxicity


Cephalalgia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 924-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanner Boes ◽  
Dan Levy

Background: The frequency of migraine headaches is higher in women than in men and in susceptible women attacks are related to changes in ovarian hormone levels. Intracranial mast cells (MCs) are likely to have a role in migraine headache genesis, and changes in the dural MC population might influence headache susceptibility. The present study thus tested the hypothesis that sex and ovarian hormones influence the density and phenotypic makeup of dural MCs. Methods: Histochemistry combined with quantitative analyses was used to investigate sex differences, estrous cycle and ovarian hormones on dural MC density, phenotype and degranulation level in male and female rats. Results: Our data show that in female rats, dural MC density fluctuates during the estrous cycle and is overall higher than in males. In ovariectomized rats, estradiol, but not progesterone, promoted an increase in dural MC density. This effect was abolished by a splenectomy, suggesting estrogen-related recruitment of MCs from the spleen. Finally, our data suggest that the phenotypic make up of dural MCs, which represents the level of cellular maturity, is also governed by changes in estrogen levels. Conclusions: Given the potential role of dural MCs in triggering headache, our data suggest that estrogen-related modulation of dural MC density and phenotypic makeup could have a role in mediating the higher frequency and severity of headaches such as migraine, in women.


1975 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. DEIS ◽  
NIA ALONSO

SUMMARY The effect of synthetic thyrotrophin releasing factor (TRF) on serum prolactin and LH concentrations was determined by radioimmunoassay in male, cyclic and pseudopregnant female rats. A solution of TRF (0·1, 0·25, 0·5 and 1 μg/rat) was injected i.v. at 17.00 h into rats pretreated with sodium pentobarbitone at 13.00 h. A group of male rats was also treated with TRF at 11.00 h after pretreatment with sodium pentobarbitone at 07.00 h. Fifteen minutes after TRF administration, blood samples were obtained by heart puncture. Doses of 0·25, 0·5 and 1 μg TRF significantly increased the serum prolactin concentration in pro-oestrous rats. The mean serum prolactin level after the injection of 0·5 and 1 μg into oestrous rats and 0·5 μg TRF into dioestrous day 2 rats, was significantly greater than the control values. Injection of TRF on day 1 of dioestrus had no effect. Serum LH concentration was not significantly modified by the various doses of TRF administered. On day 3 of pseudopregnancy a significant increase of serum prolactin values was obtained with 0·5 and 1 μg TRF. On day 7 of pseudopregnancy a dose of 0·5 μg produced the same effect, but on day 10 of pseudopregnancy only 1 μg TRF significantly increased serum prolactin levels when compared with the control rats. In male rats serum prolactin concentration was significantly greater than the control values after TRF treatment either in the morning or the afternoon. The response was similar to that obtained in pro-oestrous rats. The results suggest that the ability of synthetic TRF to stimulate prolactin release exists in both female and male rats and that TRF does not affect LH secretion.


1964 ◽  
Vol 207 (3) ◽  
pp. 631-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kritchevsky ◽  
Shirley A. Tepper

Changes in serum cholesterol levels with age have been studied in male and female rats of three inbred strains (BN, DA, and Lewis) and one random-bred strain (Wistar). The mean serum cholesterol levels at each age differed among strains. Serum cholesterol levels (mg/100 ml) for male rats at 30, 60, and 90 days were: BN-65, 46, and 47; DA-105, 85, and 101; Lewis-79, 76, and 57; and Wistar-64, 63, and 73. For female rats the values were: BN-56, 45, and 47; DA-86, 74, and 91; Lewis-77, 83, and 67; and Wistar-59, 71, and 83. The variation of serum cholesterol with age was different between strains, but similar for males and females within each strain. There was no correlation between body weight and serum cholesterol. Liver cholesterol levels (mg/100 g) determined at 90 days were, for the males, BN-187, DA-233, Lewis-247, and Wistar-300, and for the females, BN-188, DA-244, Lewis-216, and Wistar-249. No correlation with body weight or serum cholesterol was observed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (5) ◽  
pp. R1118-R1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Toba ◽  
J. T. Crofton ◽  
M. Inoue ◽  
L. Share

This study was performed to investigate further the mechanisms underlying the sexual dimorphism of the pressor responses to vasopressin. We have confirmed our earlier findings that the pressor response to graded infusions of vasopressin in conscious unrestrained male rats is similar to that in estrous females and greater than in diestrus, proestrus, and metestrus. This difference was due primarily to greater increases in total peripheral resistance (TPR) in males and estrous females, since there were no sex- or cycle-related differences in the vasopressin-induced reductions in cardiac output. Gonadectomy was without effect in males but, in females, increased blood pressure responses to vasopressin to levels found in males. Chronic treatment of ovariectomized rats with estradiol reduced pressor responsiveness to vasopressin; treatment with progesterone was without effect. These differences were also due to differences in TPR. It is concluded that the sex- and cycle-dependent differences in vasopressin-induced increases in blood pressure are due largely to attenuation of increases in TPR by estrogen.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (1) ◽  
pp. R153-R160
Author(s):  
M. Moriyama ◽  
Y. Nakanishi ◽  
S. Tsuyama ◽  
Y. Kannan ◽  
M. Ohta ◽  
...  

The conversion of beta- to alpha-adrenergic glycogenolysis by corticosteroids was studied in perfused livers of mature female rats. Isoproterenol stimulated glucose production more effectively in female rats than in male rats, but the difference in its stimulatory effect disappeared in adrenalectomized (ADX) rats, whereas it remained in adrenodemedulated rats. When ADX female rats were treated with dexamethasone sulfate, alpha-responses increased and beta-responses decreased, depending on the concentration of dexamethasone sulfate. The treatment of female rats with 1.5 mg/kg dexamethasone sulfate changed the levels of the alpha- and beta-responses to those observed in male rats, and the changes were associated with changes in the number of receptors. Although periodicity of changes in plasma corticosterone levels was observed in both male and female rats, the extent of circadian variations was significantly lower in female rats during the estrous cycle than in male rats. The variations in plasma corticosterone levels and in both alpha- and beta-responses after ovariectomy approached those in male rats. The results suggest that the level of plasma corticosterone might play an important role in the regulation of the relative levels of alpha- and beta-adrenergic responses in female rats.


1979 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. N. JUSTO ◽  
A. NEGRO-VILAR

A marked sexual difference in the rise of serum gonadotrophin concentrations after gonadectomy has been described in the rat. Gonadectomy in males induced a rapid rise in the concentrations of both LH and FSH within 8 to 12 h, whereas ovariectomy invoked a rapid increase in the concentration of FSH while the response by LH was delayed for several days. To determine whether these differences could be explained, at least in part, by the different steroid milieu at the time of gonadectomy, a series of experiments were performed to analyse the rise in both LH and FSH serum concentrations in control male and female rats and in male rats that had been pretreated with oestradiol-17β. Adult male rats received an s.c. implant of a silicone elastomer capsule filled with crystalline oestradiol-17 β. Controls received empty capsules. Twenty-four hours later, the oestradiol-implanted rats were castrated and control animals were sham-operated. Both LH and FSH levels remained within control levels after castration in the oestradiol-implanted rats, indicating that the oestradiol implant was preventing any rise of either gonadotrophin. On day 5 after implantation, the capsules were removed, sham-implanted animals were castrated and LH and FSH levels at 12, 24, 48 and 72 h were measured and compared with those of ovariectomized rats at similar intervals. The control male rats displayed the pattern of gonadotrophin increments normally found after castration, with both LH and FSH concentrations rising significantly by 12 h after castration and with further increments at later periods. Oestradiol-treated rats showed a female-like gonadotrophin pattern. FSH levels started to rise significantly at 24 h compared with values from intact rats and increased further at 48 and 72 h. During the first 48 h, FSH levels in both oestradiol-treated, castrated rats and female gonadectomized rats were significantly lower than in castrated animals. LH levels, on the other hand, remained low in both groups during the first 48 h, starting to rise significantly above control levels by 72 h. These results indicate that the different pattern of response to gonadectomy in rats of both sexes may be altered by changes in steroid environment and, therefore, may not be genetically predetermined.


1979 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. HANSEN ◽  
P. SÖDERSTEN ◽  
P. ENEROTH ◽  
B. SREBRO ◽  
K. HOLE

Ovariectomized rats exposed to constant plasma levels of oestradiol showed a daily rhythm in lordosis behaviour, with high levels of lordosis occurring during the dark portion of the daily light: darkness cycle and low levels during the light period. Similarly treated male rats failed to show a rhythm in lordosis behaviour. However, neonatal castration permitted the expression of the lordosis rhythm in male rats; conversely, an injection of 1·25 mg testosterone propionate on day 4 of life abolished the rhythm in female rats. Pinealectomy, adrenalectomy or depletion of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine levels did not affect the periodicity in lordosis behaviour but lesions in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus disrupted the rhythm. It is suggested that the daily rhythm in lordosis behaviour participates in the control of the termination of heat in the female rat and that the perinatal hormone milieu may exert permanent effects on periodic functions.


1982 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Verhoeven ◽  
G. Vandoren ◽  
W. Heyns ◽  
E. R. Kühn ◽  
J. P. Janssens ◽  
...  

The effects of neonatally administered steroids on the sensitivity of the mammary gland to tumour induction by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene was studied as a model for delayed (de)differentiating effects of steroid hormones. Immediately after birth male and female rats were gonadectomized and treated with testosterone, oestradiol or oil. Control animals were left intact. On day 45 all the gonadectomized animals and some of the control animals received an implant which delivered continuous low levels of oestradiol. The carcinogen was administered on day 55. The administration of an oestradiol implant, which increased prolactin levels in all animals, markedly reduced tumour incidence in intact female rats and increased tumour incidence in intact male rats. Neonatal administration of testosterone or oestradiol did not significantly influence tumour incidence, histopathology or oestradiol responsiveness in neonatally gonadectomized rats but tended to decrease tumour oestradiol-receptor levels. This lack of effect of neonatal steroids in gonadectomized animals suggests that the effects observed by other authors in intact rats are mediated by changes in gonadal secretions. It is concluded that the hormonal environment during and after tumour induction plays a major role in the development of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary carcinomas.


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