Pituitary and testicular responses in sexually mature bulls after intravenous injections of graded doses of LH-releasing hormone

1984 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. D'Occhio ◽  
B. P. Setchell

ABSTRACT The capacity of the anterior pituitary gland and testes in mature bulls (705±9 (s.e.m.) kg body wt, n = 4) to respond to graded doses of LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) was assessed relative to endogenous profiles of LH and testosterone secretion. Endogenous hormone profiles were determined by bleeding bulls at 20-min intervals for 12 h. Responses to LHRH were assessed on successive days after single intravenous injections of 1, 5, 10, 50 or 100 ng LHRH/kg body wt. Blood samples were taken at −40, −20, 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 120 min relative to LHRH injection. During a 12-h bleed bulls showed spontaneous pulses of LH and testosterone which had peak amplitudes of 2·6±0·5 μg/l and 44·5 ± 7·1 nmol/l respectively. Respective peak LH (μg/l) and testosterone (nmol/l) responses to LVRH were as follows: 1 ng LHRH (3·0±0·7: 47·3±4·1); 5 ng LHRH (8·0±1·2; 52·8 ± 6·2); 10 ng LHRH (11·1±2·3; 57·7 ± 9·1); 50 ng LHRH (19·2±2·8; 47·9±8·6); 100 ng LHRH (19·1±4·7; 43·9 ±6·4). A dose of 1 ng LHRH/kg produced LH and testosterone responses which were comparable in amplitude to spontaneous peaks in the respective hormone. There was a linear (y = 0·28x+5·72; r = 0·81) increase in the LH response to doses of LVRH between 1 and 50 ng/kg; corresponding testosterone responses showed no relationship with the dose of LHRH. The capacity of the anterior pituitary gland to release amounts of LH eight to ten times in excess of those secreted during spontaneous peaks suggests that (1) there exists a large releasable store of LH in the anterior pituitary gland and (2) hypothalamic LHRH is a limiting factor in gonadotrophin secretion. In contrast to LH release, the androgenic response of the testes to acute gonadotrophic stimulation is determined largely by prevailing steroidogenic activity. J. Endocr. (1984) 103, 371–376

1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Persson ◽  
M. Nilsson ◽  
E. Rosengren

ABSTRACT The biosynthesis of polyamines, an ubiquitous group of amines shown to be essential for normal cellular growth and differentiation, was studied in the rat anterior pituitary gland during the different stages of the oestrous cycle. The activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), which catalyses the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of polyamines, was low during oestrus, metoestrus and dioestrus. However, a marked transitory rise in ODC activity was found in the pituitary gland on the evening of pro-oestrus. The rise in ODC activity was accompanied by an increase in the pituitary content of the polyamines putrescine and spermidine. Ovariectomy did not significantly change the basal ODC activity in the pituitary gland. Oestrogen treatment of ovariectomized rats resulted in a marked stimulation of pituitary polyamine biosynthesis. The largest effects were observed when oestrogen was given as two injections 72 h apart, which gave rise to levels of ODC activity comparable to those observed on the evening of pro-oestrus. The increase in polyamine synthesis in the anterior pituitary gland during pro-oestrus appeared not to be related to the preovulatory secretion of LH or prolactin, since neither LH-releasing hormone nor thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (which induces a secretion of prolactin) affected pituitary ODC activity. The observed biosynthesis of polyamines may be associated with the cellular proliferation which occurs in the anterior pituitary gland at oestrus. J. Endocr. (1985) 107, 83–87


1978 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. K. SEN ◽  
K. M. J. MENON

Specific oestradiol binding to a receptor in nuclear and cytosol fractions of the rat anterior pituitary gland and pituitary responsiveness to gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) during the oestrous cycle have been studied. To accomplish this, both unoccupied and occupied oestradiol-binding sites in the cytosol and oestradiol-binding sites in the nucleus and total cell were measured during the oestrous cycle. The concentration of unoccupied and occupied sites and total oestradiol binding in the cytosol fluctuated during the cycle. At pro-oestrus, the concentration of cytosol receptor was diminished by about 40% and replenishment occurred during oestrus. On the other hand, a profound increase in concentrations of cellular and nuclear receptors occurred at pro-oestrus. Administration of GnRH significantly stimulated LH release at all stages of the cycle. The maximum stimulation of LH release by GnRH was observed at 13.00 h of pro-oestrus. From these studies, it is concluded that pituitary responsiveness to exogenous GnRH during pro-oestrus parallels the changes in the content of oestrogen receptors in the cytosol and nucleus.


1979 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. DAVIES ◽  
J. COLLINS

SUMMARY After the i.m. injection of 10 μg synthetic LH releasing hormone (LH-RH) into Japanese quail the levels of LH and FSH in plasma rose significantly within 2 min. The increased level of LH declined rapidly but that of FSH was maintained for the duration of the experiment. To determine whether the anterior pituitary gland is primed by LH-RH a double injection schedule was adopted. It would appear that, while endogenous LH-RH may prime the avian pituitary gland slightly, synthetic LH-RH is ineffective.


1983 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Fuquay ◽  
G. P. Moberg

Treatment of intact rams with ACTH increased plasma corticosteroids and significantly reduced the ability of LH releasing hormone (LHRH) to elicit the release of LH. Infusion of cortisol at a rate which increased plasma corticosteroid concentrations to above that observed after injection of ACTH did not affect the ability of LHRH to induce the release of LH. In adrenalectomized rams LH release in response to LHRH was inhibited during ACTH treatment but was not affected in the absence of ACTH. Therefore, ACTH reduced the responsiveness of the anterior pituitary gland to LHRH through a mechanism not involving the adrenal gland.


1981 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHLEEN A. ELIAS ◽  
C. A. BLAKE

Changes at the anterior pituitary and/or hypothalamic levels which result in selective FSH release during late pro-oestrus in the cyclic rat were investigated. The possible involvement of decreasing serum concentrations of oestrogen during pro-oestrus in such changes was studied. Rats were decapitated at 12.00 h on pro-oestrus, before the onset of the LH surge and first phase of FSH release, or at 24.00 h on pro-oestrus, shortly after the onset of the second or selective phase of FSH release. Other rats were given oestrogen (OE2) at 14.00 h and killed at 24.00 h pro-oestrus. Paired hemi-anterior pituitary glands were incubated with vehicle or OE2 with or without synthetic LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH) or hypothalamic acid extracts prepared from rats killed at 12.00 or 24.00 h on pro-oestrus. At 24.00 h pro-oestrus, serum FSH concentration was high while serum LH concentration was low regardless of whether rats were given OE2. Glands collected and incubated at 24.00 h released more FSH and less LH than did glands collected and incubated at 12.00 h pro-oestrus. Administration of OE2 in vivo and/or in vitro did not affect these responses. The increments in LH and FSH release attributed to LH-RH or hypothalamic extracts in the glands incubated at 24.00 h were not different from those of the glands incubated at 12.00 h. Also, the hypothalamic extracts prepared from rats killed at 24.00 h were no more effective than the extracts prepared from rats killed at 12.00 h in releasing LH or FSH from glands incubated at 12.00 or 24.00 h pro-oestrus. Administration of OE2 in vivo caused a small suppression of LH-RH-induced FSH release. We suggest that a change occurs at the level of the anterior pituitary gland during the period of the LH surge and first phase of FSH release to increase basal FSH secretion selectively and cause, at least in part, the second phase of increased serum FSH. This change is not mediated by a decrease in serum oestrogen concentration. We failed to observe any evidence that LH-RH causes preferential FSH release during late pro-oestrus or that a hypothalamic peptide with a preferential FSH releasing ability is involved in FSH release at this time.


1977 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. PANERAI ◽  
IRIT GIL-AD ◽  
DANIELA COCCHI ◽  
V. LOCATELLI ◽  
G. L. ROSSI ◽  
...  

SUMMARY To determine how the sensitivity of the ectopic anterior pituitary gland to the GH-releasing effect of thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) might be affected by the time lapse from transplantation, TRH (0·15 and 0·6 μg) was injected i.v. into hypophysectomized (hypox)-transplanted rats under urethane anaesthesia 1,3, 8,15, 30 and 60 days after transplantation, and plasma samples were taken 5 and 10 min later. Baseline GH values gradually decreased with time from about 16·0 ng/ml (1 day) to about 3·0 ng/ml (30 and 60 days). The TRH-induced GH release was absent 1 day after transplantation, present only with the higher TRH dose 3 and 8 days after transplantation, and clearly elicitable, also with the lower TRH dose (0·15 μg), from 15 up to 60 days. Determination of plasma prolactin concentrations showed a decline from about 85·0 ng/ml (1 day) to about 32·0 ng/ml (8 days); subsequently (15–60 days) prolactin values stabilized. Plasma prolactin levels increased 15 and 60 days after transplantation only when a dose of 0·6 μg TRH was given. In intact weight-matched rats, TRH induced a GH response only at the dose of 1·2 μg while a short-lived but clear-cut prolactin response could be obtained even with the 0·3 μg dose. The present results indicate that: (1) disconnexion between the central nervous system and the anterior pituitary gland greatly enhances GH responsiveness while blunting prolactin responsiveness to TRH; (2) the sensitivity of the anterior pituitary gland to the GH-releasing effect of TRH increases with time from transplantation; (3) TRH is a more effective prolactin-than GH-releaser on the pituitary gland in situ.


1969 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. TOMOGANE ◽  
K. ÔTA ◽  
A. YOKOYAMA

SUMMARY Changes in the rate of progesterone and 20α-hydroxypregn-4-en-3-one (20α-OH-P) secretion by the rat ovary during the course of lactation were investigated. The level of progesterone in the ovarian vein blood, which was very low on day 1 of lactation, increased progressively up to day 8 (355 μg./100 ml. blood), then declined to day 18 (45·5 μg./100 ml.) and day 21 of lactation. A high concentration of 20α-OH-P in blood was observed on day 1 and day 21 of lactation, but from day 4 to day 18 the secretion of this steroid was relatively low. The ratio of progesterone to 20α-OH-P exceeded unity from day 4 to day 16, and in the middle of lactation the concentration of progesterone in ovarian venous blood was about four times greater than that of 20α-OH-P. These changes in the secretory pattern of progestins during lactation are discussed in connexion with the effects of the suckling stimulus on prolactin and gonadotrophin secretion from the anterior pituitary gland.


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