A physiological dose of estradiol with progesterone affects striatum biogenic amines

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 1520-1526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Morissette ◽  
Daniel Lévesque ◽  
Alain Bélanger ◽  
Thérèse Di Paolo
Keyword(s):  
Steroid Injection ◽  
Acute Effect ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Rat Striatum ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid ◽  
The Brain

The acute effect of estradiol and progesterone on dopamine and serotonin metabolism in rat striatum was studied. One subcutaneous injection of 17β-estradiol (300 ng) and progesterone (150 μg) into intact male rats increased plasma levels of these steroids, while testosterone, corticosterone, and estrone remained unchanged. Dehydroepiandrosterone, androstane-3β, 17β-diol and dihydrotestosterone remained undetectably low. Prolactin decreased and androstane-3α,17β-diol, and 17-OH progesterone increased, but less than estradiol and progesterone. Peak levels of striatal dopamine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and homovanillic acid were observed 15–45 min after steroid injection with a return to control values after 45–60 min, while serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels were slightly decreased. An injection of estradiol (70 ng) with progesterone (70μg) to ovariectomized female rats left plasma prolactin levels unchanged, while striatum dopamine and serotonin as well as their metabolite concentrations peaked 15–60 min after steroid injection and returned to control values after 45–75 min. To allow for a better comparison of the action of these steroids, the effect of estradiol or progesterone alone and in combination on the brain of ovariectomized rats was compared in the same experiment. A similar increase in metabolites of dopamine levels was observed after these steroids alone or in combination, while dopamine levels were increased only after progesterone alone or in combination with estradiol. An injection of estradiol or progesterone to ovariectomized rats led to peak steroid concentrations at approximately the same time in the brain and plasma. In addition, plasma and brain steroid levels were significantly correlated. Thus, levels of estradiol and progesterone that occur during the estrous cycle can rapidly increase striatum dopaminergic activity in rats of both sexes, while serotonin activity is increased only in female rats.Key words: estradiol, progesterone, striatum, dopamine, serotonin.

Effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake blockers on the concentration in brain of 5-hydroxytryptamine and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in male rats, pro-oestrous rats and ovariectomized rats treated with oestrogen and progesterone

1985 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-413
Author(s):  
A. M. Horn ◽  
A. G. Watts
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Preceding Paper ◽  
Prolactin Secretion ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Raphe Nuclei ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid ◽  
Raphé Nuclei ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) uptake blockade on 5-HT turnover by measuring the concentrations of 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in brain with the aid of high performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection. The indoleamines were measured in the anterior hypothalamus (AH), posterior hypothalamus (PH) and raphe nuclei 30 min after the i.v. injection of either alaproclate (30 mg/kg) or zimelidine (20 mg/kg). The effect of alaproclate was studied in male rats, pro-oestrous female rats, rats ovariectomized and injected s.c. with 20 μg oestradiol benzoate (OB) on dioestrus and at 12.00 h of the next day (presumptive pro-oestrus) with 2 mg progesterone (model 1) and rats ovariectomized 3–4 weeks before an s.c. injection of 20 μg OB followed 72 h later by an s.c. injection of 2 mg progesterone (model 2). Alaproclate caused a significant decrease in the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio in the AH and PH of the brain of male rats, in the PH and raphe nuclei in pro-oestrous rats and model 1, and in the raphe nuclei alone in model 2. Zimelidine had no effect on the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio in any area in model 2. In male rats the injection of parachlorophenylalanine produced a marked reduction in the brain concentrations of 5-HT and 5-HIAA, but the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio was unchanged by a subsequent injection of alaproclate. None of the pharmacological agents affected significantly the brain concentrations of noradrenaline, dopamine or dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. These results together with the data in the preceding paper show that in female rats changes in LH and prolactin secretion produced by alaproclate may reflect changes in central 5-HT turnover. J. Endocr. (1985) 104, 407–413

Naloxone reverses post-ejaculatory inhibition of sexual behaviour in female rats

1987 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Forsberg ◽  
I. Bednar ◽  
P. Eneroth ◽  
P. Södersten
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Opioid Peptide ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Sexual Receptivity ◽  
Peptide Receptor ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACT Sexual receptivity was inhibited in ovariectomized rats treated with oestradiol benzoate (OB: two injections of 2 μg) and progesterone (0·5 mg) immediately after ejaculation by the male and restored after the end of the post-ejaculatory refractory period in the male. The post-ejaculatory inhibition of sexual receptivity was reversed by i.p. (5 mg), intracerebroventricular (50 μg) or intrathecal (50 μg) injection of the opioid peptide receptor antagonist naloxone. The concentration of serum β-endorphin-like immunoreactivity in ovariectomized rats treated with OB plus progesterone was unaltered by sexual interactions with males (18·3 ± 6·0 (s.e.m.), 26·4 ± 2·1 and 21·8 ± 6·1 pmol/l before sexual activity, after ejaculation and after the end of the post-ejaculatory interval) but reduced to non-detectable by hypophysectomy. Subcutaneous injection of 10 μg β-endorphin raised serum concentrations of β-endorphin-like immunoreactivity but did not affect the display of sexual behaviour. The behaviour was also unaffected by intracerebroventricular injection of 0·1, 0·2 or 1·0 μg β-endorphin or by injections of 0·25 μg β-endorphin in the periaqueductal central grey of the mesencephalon. The results show that ejaculation by male rats causes a transient inhibition of sexual receptivity in the female which may be dependent upon opioid peptide receptor mechanisms in the brain and spinal cord. It is unlikely that the peptide is β-endorphin. J. Endocr. (1987) 113, 429–434

scholarly journals Regulation of serum leptin levels by gonadal function in rats

1999 ◽  
pp. 468-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Pinilla ◽  
LM Seoane ◽  
L Gonzalez ◽  
E Carro ◽  
E Aguilar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Internal Diameter ◽  
External Diameter ◽  
Gonadal Function ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Serum Leptin

The aim of this study was to investigate the regulation of serum leptin levels by gender and gonadal steroid milieu. Thus, we measured serum leptin levels by radioimmunoassay in (a) intact male and female rats, (b) female rats at different stages of the estrous cycle and (c) ovariectomized or orchidectomized rats. Gonadectomized groups were or were not implanted with silastic capsules (10 or 30 mm in length, 1.519mm internal diameter; 3.06 mm external diameter) containing estradiol or testosterone and decapitated two weeks later. We found (i) intact female rats weighing 50 g, 250 g and 300 g exhibited higher serum leptin concentrations than intact male rats of similar body weight; (ii) leptin concentrations were not affected by the phase of the estrous cycle; (iii) two weeks after gonadectomy serum leptin concentrations increased in both male (from 4.47+/-1.87 to 8.76+/-1.24 ng/ml) and female (from 1.97+/-0.46 to 5.29+/-0.51 ng/ml) rats. The ovariectomy-induced increase in serum leptin levels was not dependent, at least completely, on changes in body weight since it could be observed when comparisons were made between ovariectomized rats and intact rats in estrus matched for body weight. In contrast the effect of orchidectomy on serum leptin levels appears to be dependent on changes in body weight since it was no longer observed when comparisons were made with a group of intact male rats matched for body weight. In conclusion, these results suggest that serum leptin concentrations are controlled by gonadal function either directly or as a consequence of changes in body weight.

SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE CONCENTRATIONS OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTORS IN RAT LIVER AND THYMUS

1979 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. ENDRES ◽  
R. J. MILHOLLAND ◽  
F. ROSEN
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Glucocorticoid Receptors ◽  
Plasma Corticosterone ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Male And Female Rats

The effects in rats of adrenalectomy, hypophysectomy, ovariectomy or combinations of these operations on the concentrations of glucocorticoid receptors in the cytosol of liver and thymus were measured. The concentrations of glucocorticoid receptors were lower in cytosols from liver and thymus of female than of male rats. After adrenalectomy, there was a significant increase in the concentrations of receptors measured in the cytoplasm from the liver and thymus of female rats and from the liver of male rats. After adrenalectomy or hypophysectomy, there was no sex difference in the concentrations of glucocorticoid receptors in cytosols of liver or thymus. After ovariectomy, the concentration of receptors in cytosols from the thymus, but not from the liver, increased. Ovariectomized rats responded to adrenalectomy in the same way as intact male rats. The different responses shown by male and female rats to endocrine manipulation probably depend upon associated changes in plasma corticosterone concentrations which are influenced by the ovary. Differences in response between the liver and thymus probably reflect a preferential distribution of corticosterone to the liver rather than to the thymus.

SEXUAL DIFFERENCE IN THE EFFECT OF CYPROTERONE ACETATE AND GLUCOCORTICOIDS ON α2u-GLOBULIN IN GONADECTOMIZED RATS

1978 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. VANDOREN ◽  
W. HEYNS ◽  
G. VERHOEVEN ◽  
P. DE MOOR
Keyword(s):  
Cyproterone Acetate ◽  
Sexual Difference ◽  
Testosterone Propionate ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Major Protein ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Pituitary Glands

Laboratorium voor Experiméntele Geneeskunde, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Rega Instituut, Minderbroedersstraat 10, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium (Received 28 March 1978) The synthesis of α2u-globulin, the major protein found in the urine of adult male rats (Roy & Neuhaus, 1966; Roy, Neuhaus & Harmison, 1966), is controlled by several hormones. Androgens, growth hormone, thyroxine and glucocorticoids promote the synthesis of this protein, whereas oestrogens and a factor secreted by ectopically transplanted pituitary glands suppress it (Roy & Neuhaus, 1967; Roy, 1973; Kurtz, Sippel & Feigelson, 1976; Vandoren, Van Baelen, Verhoeven & De Moor, 1978). Cyproterone acetate (CA), a potent antiandrogen, inhibits the androgenic induction of α2u-globulin in ovariectomized rats, but does not suppress its synthesis in intact male rats (Roy, 1976). In the present experiments, the influence of CA on the induction of α2u-globulin by testosterone propionate (TP) in the serum of gonadectomized male and female rats was compared. Evidence is presented for

LORDOSIS BEHAVIOUR IN IMMATURE MALE RATS

1978 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. SÖDERSTEN
Keyword(s):  
Normal Development ◽  
Single Injection ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Tb Treatment ◽  
Oestradiol Benzoate ◽  
Lordosis Behaviour ◽  
The Brain

Lordosis behaviour was induced in immature 20-day-old male rats by sequential treatment with oestradiol benzoate (OB) and progesterone, but prepubertal male rats were behaviourally less sensitive to the OB and progesterone treatment than were female rats. Thus, the sex difference in the lordosis response was present early during development. Castration at various times after birth showed that the capacity of immature rats to show lordosis is normally inhibited by an action of testicular secretions exerted during the first 10 days of life. Treatment of day 0 castrated rats with OB, either as a single injection given on the day of birth or as daily injections given on the first 10 days after birth, was much more effective in inhibiting the display of lordosis behaviour at 30 and 37 days of age than was treatment with testosterone benzoate (TB). Treatment with dihydrotestosterone benzoate neonatally had no inhibitory effect. Treatment of intact male rats or day 0 castrated OB-or TB-treated rats with the anti-oestrogen ethamoxytriphetol (MER-25) during the first 10 days of life antagonized the inhibitory effect of the testes and of the OB or TB treatment on the development of the lordosis response. It is suggested that during normal development oestradiol formed in the brain from testosterone in the circulation acts during the first 10 days of life to inhibit the capacity of male rats to show lordosis when adult.

Role of serotoninergic neurones in the control of gonadotrophin and prolactin secretion in the rat

1982 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csilla Ruzsas ◽  
Patrizia Limonta ◽  
L. Martini
Keyword(s):  
Combined Treatment ◽  
Prolactin Secretion ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Serum Prolactin ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Prolactin Release ◽  
Lh Secretion ◽  
The Brain

The role of brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) in the control of LH, FSH and prolactin secretion was studied in two groups of experimental animals: intact adult male rats and ovariectomized adult female rats. 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), a precursor of serotonin synthesis, and fluoxetine, a specific inhibitor of 5-HT uptake, were given either alone or together. 5-Hydroxytryptophan (50 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally and fluoxetine (20 μg/rat) was given into one of the lateral ventricles of the brain. Neither 5-HTP nor fluoxetine given alone affected LH secretion but combined treatment with the two drugs elicited a significant increase in serum LH levels in both intact male and ovariectomized female rats. Fluoxetine and 5-HTP, alone or together, did not modify FSH secretion in either kind of animal. In intact males and in ovariectomized females, 5-HTP induced a significant increase in prolactin release; fluoxetine alone was ineffective. In male animals treated with fluoxetine plus 5-HTP, serum prolactin levels increased but such an increase was lower than that found in the animals treated only with 5-HTP. In ovariectomized rats, the combined treatment induced an increase in serum prolactin levels similar to that found in animals treated with 5-HTP alone. These data suggested that brain serotonin exerts a stimulating effect on LH secretion in both intact male and ovariectomized rats, but that it does not play any role in the control of FSH release in either kind of animal and that central serotoninergic pathways participate in the stimulating control of prolactin release from the anterior pituitary gland. However, some of the data also suggested the possibility of the existence in the brain of serotoninergic systems inhibiting prolactin secretion.

Effects of in vivo gonadal hormone environment on in vitro hGRF-40-stimulated GH release

1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (3) ◽  
pp. E276-E280 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. S. Evans ◽  
R. J. Krieg ◽  
E. R. Limber ◽  
D. L. Kaiser ◽  
M. O. Thorner
Keyword(s):  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Gonadal Hormone ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Pituitary Cells ◽  
Intact Male ◽  
Castrate Male ◽  
Basal Release

The effects of gender and the gonadal hormone environment on basal and stimulated growth hormone (GH) release by dispersed and continuously perifused rat anterior pituitary cells were examined. Cells from intact male and diestrus day 2 female rats and from castrate male rats either untreated or treated with testosterone (T) or 17 beta-estradiol (E2) were used. Basal GH release (ng/min per 10(7) cells; mean +/- SE) by cells from diestrus day 2 female rats was less than by cells from castrate rats treated with T (4.3 +/- 0.6 vs. 11.4 +/- 2.7, respectively; P less than 0.025). No other differences in basal release were detected. Concentration-response relationships were documented between human GH-releasing factor 40 (hGRF-40; 0.03-100 nM given as 2.5-min pulses every 27.5 min) and GH release. Mean (+/- SE) overall GH release (ng/min per 10(7) cells) above base line was greater by cells from intact male rats (496 +/- 92) than by cells from castrate (203 +/- 37.3; P less than 0.0001), castrate and T-treated (348 +/- 52.8; P = 0.008), or castrate and E2-treated (58.1 +/- 6.8; P less than 0.001) male rats or by diestrus day 2 rats (68.6 +/- 9.5; P = 0.0001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

scholarly journals Pup removal suppresses estrogen-induced surges of LH secretion and activation of GnRH neurons in lactating rats

2006 ◽  
Vol 191 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Fukushima ◽  
Ping Yin ◽  
Maho Ishida ◽  
Nobuhiro Sugiyama ◽  
Jun Arita
Keyword(s):  
Third Ventricle ◽  
Acute Effect ◽  
Suppressive Effect ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Ovariectomized Rats ◽  
Indwelling Catheter ◽  
Lh Surge ◽  
Gnrh Neurons ◽  
Double Immunohistochemical Staining ◽  
Lh Secretion

During lactation, the suckling stimulus exerts profound influences on neuroendocrine regulation in nursing rats. We examined the acute effect of pup removal on the estrogen-induced surge of LH secretion in ovariectomized lactating rats. Lactating and nonlactating cyclic female rats were given an estradiol-containing capsule after ovariectomy, and blood samples were collected through an indwelling catheter for serum LH determinations. In lactating, freely suckled ovariectomized rats, estrogen treatment induced an afternoon LH surge with a magnitude and timing comparable to those seen in nonlactating rats. Removal of pups from the lactating rats at 0900, 1100, or 1300 h, but not at 1500 h, suppressed the estrogen-induced surge that normally occurs in the afternoon of the same day. The suppressive effect of pup removal at 0900 h was completely abolished when the pups were returned by 1400 h. In contrast, pup removal was ineffective in abolishing the stimulatory effect of progesterone on LH surges. Double immunohistochemical staining for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and c-Fos, a marker for neuronal activation, revealed a decrease, concomitantly with the suppression of LH surges, in the number of c-Fos-immunoreactive GnRH neurons in the preoptic regions of nonsuckled rats. An LH surge was restored in nonsuckled rats when 0.1 μg oxytocin was injected into the third ventricle three times at 1-h intervals during pup removal. These results suggest that the GnRH surge generator of lactating rats requires the suckling stimulus that is not involved in nonlactating cyclic female rats.

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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