bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ADRENAL EFFECT ON THE GROWTH OF THE VENTRAL AND DORSOLATERAL PROSTATE IN CASTRATED RATS INJECTED WITH OESTRADIOL
Authors: Tisell Lars-Eric
Published: December 2008

The growth of the ventral and dorsolateral prostate, the coagulating glands and the seminal vesicles was studied morphologically in castrated non-adrenalectomized and castrated adrenalectomized rats following injections for ten days of oestradiol benzoate. Oestradiol benzoate was given in daily doses of 0.001 mg or 0.010 mg, and to non-adrenalectomized rats also in daily doses of 0.100 mg.

Oestradiol increased the weight of all the accessory reproductive organs in both the adrenalectomized and non-adrenalectomized rats. The weight increase of the dorsolateral prostate was most pronounced in the nonadrenalectomized rats. Oestradiol induced signs of secretory activity in epithelial cells of the ventral and dorsolateral prostate in the non-adrenalectomized but not in the adrenalectomized rats. The higher the dose of oestradiol the more marked was the stimulation of the epithelial growth in the ventral and dorsolateral prostate of the non-adrenalectomized rats.

The growth and secretory activity observed in epithelial cells of the ventral and dorsolateral prostate of the oestradiol treated castrated non-adrenalectomized rats is assumed to be the result of the combined actions of oestradiol and adrenal steroids rather than merely the effect of an increased secretion of adrenal steroids induced by the oestradiol treatment.
THE EFFECT OF PITUITARY TRANSPLANTS ON THE TUBERO-INFUNDIBULAR DOPAMINE NEURONS IN VARIOUS ENDOCRINE STATES
Authors: Olson Lars , Fuxe Kjell , Hökfelt Tomas
Published: December 2008

The effect of pituitary transplants into the anterior chamber of the eye of the rat on the amine turnover in the tubero-infundibular dopamine (DA) neurons has been studied by means of the Falck-Hillarp fluorescence technique and a tyrosine hydroxylase inhibition test. Transplantation was performed after hypophysectomy and/or castration, and in normal rats of both sexes. It was found that pituitary transplants caused an increase in DA turnover in the median eminence, particularly in hyphysectomized rats. The effects were clearcut as early as after 2 hours and the acceleration of DA turnover was partly reduced by treatment with 2 Br-α-ergokryptin or ergocornine. In normal cycling rats the cyclic DA turnover changes disappeared and a constant fairly high DA turnover, similar to that in dioestrus, was found. It is suggested that the DA turnover changes found are due to an increased endogenous secretion of prolactin and that in normal animals the DA neurons in the median eminence can partly mediate the inhibitory feedback action of prolactin on its own secretion by increasing the release of prolactin inhibiting factor (PIF) from the median eminence via an axo-axonic effect.
SERUM INSULIN CONCENTRATION AFTER ALPHA-ADRENERGIC BLOCKADE AND SECRETIN IN DIABETICS
Authors: Persson Ib , Larsen Lars
Published: December 2008

In diabetics two different patterns of insulin release were demonstrated. One type was found after the injection of an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent, phentolamine, another after injection of secretin. The insulin release after phentolamine was moderate and prolonged, while after secretin it was rapid, short lasting, and high. The insulin pattern after secretin was not affected by a preceding phentolamine injection. Probably different mechanisms are involved in these two types of insulin release.
URINARY GONADOTROPHINS IN NINE FERTILE EUNUCHS
Authors: Christiansen Peter
Published: December 2008

Urinary total hypophyseal gonadotrophins (HG), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured by specific bioassays in nine so-called »fertile eunuchs« with an age range of 14–27 years, mean 20.8 years. All the patients but one were extremely eunuchoid with testes of varying size but all larger than infantile testes. The excretion of androgen metabolites was low, those of gonadal origin as revealed by a dexamethasone suppression test (DXM) being extremely low. A biopsy of the testes was performed in 2 cases showing full spermatogenesis in some of the tubules and no mature Leydig cells. Five of the patients had almost normal sperm counts after treatment with testosterone or human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). The mean excretion of HG was 6.3 MUU/day but the individual values varied widely (95% limits 0.5–84.9) and of FSH 4.7 IU/day (95% limits 1.6–13.1) which is not significantly different from that of normal men. The mean LH was 2.1 IU/day, the 95% limits being 0.8–5.4 which is significantly lower than that of normal men (t = 5.5, P < 0.0005). Thus LH deficiency appears to be an important feature of the syndrome.
EFFECTS OF OESTROGENS ON THYROXINE TURNOVER IN HYPERTHYROIDISM
Authors: Zaninovich Angel A.
Published: December 2008

The peripheral metabolism of thyroxine (T4) was studied before and after the administration of oestrogens in 21 patients with Graves' disease and in 5 subjects with thyrotoxicosis factitia. In addition, 6 patients with Graves' disease while receiving oestrogen treatment were given 600 mg of diphenylhydantoin (DPH) orally daily; the study on the peripheral metabolism of T4 was similarly performed. Oestrogens induced the following changes in T4 metabolism: a decrease in the concentration of free T4 in the serum, an increase in serum total T4, slowing of the fractional turnover, and contraction of the distribution space. The extrathyroidal T4 pool remained unchanged. These changes led to a decrease in daily T4 degradation rate from 469 μg in the control period to 348 μg during oestrogen therapy (P < 0.001). Fifteen of these patients showed apparent clinical improvement. The 2 subjects with T4-thyrotoxicosis factitia had decreased T4 degradation and remission of symptomatology following oestrogen administration; on the other hand, 3 subjects with T3-thyrotoxicosis factitia had no appreciable amelioration of their symptoms. The administration of DPH to oestrogen-treated patients with Graves' disease induced a slight acceleration of the absolute T4 turnover. It is concluded that the decreased T4 degradation induced by oestrogens in spontaneous and iatrogenic hyperthyroidism was mediated by an increase in T4-binding globulin capacity in the serum.
PLASMA RENIN ACTIVITY, PLASMA RENIN SUBSTRATE AND URINARY ALDOSTERONE EXCRETION IN THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE IN RELATION TO THE CONCENTRATION OF PROGESTERONE AND OESTROGENS IN THE PLASMA
Authors: Sundsfjord Johan A. , Aakvaag A.
Published: December 2008

The relative importance of endogenous progesterone and oestrogens on the rise in plasma renin activity and urinary aldosterone excretion in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle has been investigated in two groups of young women. One group (luteal group) had plasma progesterone levels of 7–19.5 ng/ml (mean 12.3; sem 1.3) in the second half of the cycle. The other group (luteal failure group) had plasma progesterone levels of 1.5–3.0 ng/ml, (mean 2.1; sem 0.16), on the corresponding days in the second half of the cycle.

The plasma oestrogen levels and the oestriol excretion did not differ between the groups at any stage of the cycle. In the luteal group the normal increase in plasma progesterone and plasma oestrogens and in oestriol excretion was accompanied by a doubling in plasma renin activity and urinary aldosterone excretion, whereas the plasma renin substrate levels did not change significantly.

In the luteal failure group, no significant increase was found in either plasma renin activity or in urinary aldosterone excretion, in spite of the unchanged plasma oestrogen levels and oestriol excretion. In this group too the plasma renin substrate levels showed no change from the first to the second half of the cycle.

It is concluded that the rise in plasma renin activity, plasma angiotensin II concentration and urinary aldosterone excretion in the luteal phase of the normal menstrual cycle is caused by increased progesterone production.
EFFECTS OF CONTINUOUS DAILY ADMINISTRATION OF 0.1 mg OF NORETHINDRONE ON THE PLASMA LEVELS OF PROGESTERONE AND ON THE URINARY EXCRETION OF LUTEINIZING HORMONE AND TOTAL OESTROGENS
Authors: Larsson-Cohn Ulf , Johansson Elof D. B. , Wide Leif , Gemzell Carl
Published: December 2008

Daily determinations of the plasma level of progesterone and the urinary excretion of LH and oestrogens were performed in four women during one control cycle followed by three months of daily treatment with 0.1 mg of norethindrone.

According to the plasma progesterone pattern, all four women seemed to ovulate during their control cycle. Two women became pregnant during their second cycle of treatment. During treatment all four women showed an atypical LH pattern without any distinct midcycle peak. The mean LH excretion during treatment was not significantly different from the mean level of follicular phase of normal cycles. The oestrogens and progesterone levels were within normal ranges.

It is concluded that during treatment with 0.1 mg of norethindrone daily an apparently normal pregnancy may occur in spite of a different LH excretion pattern.
PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION OF THE 5α-DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE BINDING PROTEIN IN THE EPIDIDYMAL CYTOSOL FRACTION. IN VIVO STUDIES
Authors: Hansson Vidar , Djøseland Ole , Reusch Ellen , Aasvik Synnøve
Published: December 2008

Following the administration of [3H] testosterone to castrated rats in vivo, most of the radioactivity in the epididymal cytosol fraction was bound to macromolecules. The molecular weight of the androgen-macromolecular complexes was determined to about 90 000, and the frictional ratio (f/fo) was 1.62. The sedimentation coefficient was shown to be 4.6 S (± 0.2) and the complex was slightly retarded on a column of Sephadex G-100 (Einstein-Stokes radius 47–48 Å). On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis it moved as a sharp zone with RF: 0.41.

Almost all the radioactivity bound to these macromolecules was identified as 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT) (95%) and only a minor part (3–4%) as testosterone.

The receptor for 5α-DHT in the epididymal cytosol fraction was in its physico-chemical properties shown to be different from the androgenbinding proteins of the rat ventral prostate, and could not be demonstrated in non-target organs like liver and kidney. The receptor for 5α-DHT in the epididymal cytosol fraction did not form aggregates in hypotonic solutions, and was roughly of the same molecular size both at high and low salt concentrations.
STIMULATING ACTION OF CALCIUM ON THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS
Authors: Jensen Herluf , Toft Harly
Published: December 2008

The effect of calcium on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system was studied in 10 subjects – 9 with normal adrenal function and in 1 adrenalectomized patient – by giving an intravenous infusion of calcium during 4 hours.

In all the subjects with intact hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis the level of plasma 11-OHCS either was increased or the fall was diminished as compared to the fall in plasma 11-OHCS during an intravenous infusion of glucose. However, no correlation was found between the plasma calcium and the 11-OHCS. Furthermore the excretion of 17-KGS in the urine was unaltered during the calcium infusion experiments. In the adrenalectomized patient no difference in the plasma 11-OHCS was found during calcium or glucose infusion. It is concluded that calcium stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, resulting in an increased cortisol secretion. The level at which this stimulation occurs remains unknown.
PROLACTIN LEVELS IN BOVINE BLOOD, INFLUENCED BY MILKING MANIPULATION, GENITAL STIMULATION AND OXYTOCIN ADMINISTRATION WITH SPECIFIC CONSIDERATION OF THE SEASONAL VARIATIONS
Authors: Schams D.
Published: December 2008

The peripheral blood level of prolactin has been examined in the bovine by means of radioimmunological method. Prolactin values of lactating animals (kept in an open stable) show a seasonal influence with higher basic values during the summer and lower basic values during the winter. Normal milking gives a potent short stimulus for the release of prolactin. Repeated milking also leads to a rise in prolactin, although the absolute value of the peaks seems to decrease with the number of stimuli. Massage of the udder, washing of the teats and a short premilking before actual milking lead to an increase of prolactin in most animals. A very short release of prolactin can also be detected after rectal massage of the cervix and of the vagina. Exogenous administration of oxytocin in a dose of 5 to 80 IU does not produce any increase of prolactin. After injections or infusions of 120 IU and 160 IU, only the latter dosage could induce a noticeable increase.
IMMUNOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS OF URINARY INSULIN FOR THE EVALUATION OF INSULIN PRODUCTION
Authors: Ørskov H. , Johansen K.
Published: December 2008

Insulin in urine can be measured accurately after special precautions which include dialysis of urine samples and the addition of albumin. The accuracy and dependability of the procedures used have been confirmed in experiments where the results from two different immunological techniques have been compared and in dilution and recovery experiments. It has also been demonstrated that urinary insulin clearance is very constant over the wide range of physiologically attainable plasma insulin concentrations and urinary flows.
THE STIMULATORY EFFECT ON INSULIN SECRETION IN LONG-TERM TOLBUTAMIDE TREATMENT
Authors: Johansen K. , Ørskov H.
Published: December 2008

Previous studies of the long-term effect of sulphonylurea have consistently failed to reveal any chronic stimulation of insulin secretion. This failure is probably due to the inadequate design used.

In the present study an unquestionable long-term action of tolbutamide on the beta-cell has been demonstrated. We have studied diabetic patients treated for several years during the days just before and just after experimental withdrawal of the drug and have ascertained by this means that the blood sugar is almost unchanged.

It has been found that the urinary insulin excretion decreased significantly after withdrawal of tolbutamide. It is concluded that the long-term clinical effect of tolbutamide is at least partly due to a stimulatory action of tolbutamide on the beta-cell.
RADIOIMMUNOASSAY OF OESTRONE AND OESTRADIOL IN HUMAN AND BOVINE PERIPHERAL PLASMA
Authors: Edqvist Lars-Eric , Johansson Elof D. B.
Published: December 2008

An antibody against oestradiol-17β-succinyl-bovine-serum-albumin was diluted in a 0.1% phosphate buffer to 1:150 000 without any previous treatment. Sephadex LH-20 columns were used to separate the oestrone and oestradiol fractions. Separation of free from antibody-bound steroids was achieved by a dextrane coated charcoal suspension. Five pg of oestradiol or oestrone was significantly different from 0 in the radioimmunoassay system. The recovery for oestrone and 17β-oestradiol after diethyl ether extraction and column separation was between 87-91 per cent. Highly accurate and precise measurements of both oestrone and 17β-oestradiol were obtained both in women and cows. During pregnancy in the cow oestrone was found to be the predominant free oestrogen in the peripheral plasma and the oestradiol levels were found to be about 10 per cent or less of the oestrone levels. The oestrone levels in the pregnant cow could be measured by a rapid technique omitting the column separation. During the normal menstrual cycle in women the pattern of oestrone and oestradiol closely followed that obtained after ether extraction only. A well defined midcyclic peak of oestrogens was found in all the 34 normal cycles assayed. The increase during the luteal phase was less pronounced.
THE SOURCE OF CIRCULATING PROGESTERONE AND 17α-HYDROXYPROGESTERONE IN HYDATIDIFORM MOLE
Authors: Teoh Eng Soon , Das N. P. , Dawood M. Yusoff , Ratnam S. S.
Published: December 2008

The source of the large amounts of circulating progesterone and the smaller quantities of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone in Hydatidiform Mole was studied by measuring progesterone, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone and 20α-hydroxyprogesterone in petroleum ether extracts of mole vesicle fluid and theca lutein cyst fluid following chromatography. The progesterone concentration in 10 samples of mole vesicle fluid ranged from 261–1493 ng/ml (mean 724 ng/ml) and was 8.6 times higher than the concentration in the serum. The chromatogram of the theca lutein cyst fluid showed a large peak of progesterone followed by two large secondary peaks of 20α-hydroxyprogesterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone. In 3 patients with benign Hydatidiform Mole, progesterone and human chorionic gonadotrophin rapidly decreased during the first 48 hours following evacuation of the mole. Thereafter, progesterone disappeared from the serum before HCG in one case, together with HCG in the second, and remained at low concentrations for 3 months in the third patient despite negative (below 0.6 IU/ml) HCG assays. The studies show that the mole trophoblast is the principal source of progesterone and the ovaries are a secondary source. Theca lutein cysts are the principal source of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone.
SEX- AND AGE-DEPENDENT HYDROXYLATIONS OF TESTOSTERONE IN THE LIVER OF NORMALLY DEVELOPED RATS AND IN ANIMALS WITH DISTURBED SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Ghraf Rüdiger , Lax Edmund Rodney , Schriefers Herbert
Published: December 2008

The formation rate of C19O3 (C19O4)-metabolites from testosterone incubated with rat liver microsomes is subject to an age-dependent development and sex-specific differentiation. An investigation of the formation of individual testosterone hydroxylation products demonstrates an age dependence in all cases. This age dependence may display sex differences (as in the production of 6β- and 16α-hydroxytestosterone), or be independent of sex (as in the production of 7α-hydroxytestosterone). At maturity, male animals produce significantly more 6β-hydroxytestosterone than females; 16α-hydroxytestosterone is a sex-specific metabolite found only in male animals.

The administration of oestradiol benzoate (300 μg on day 2 of life) leads to feminization in the mature male animal, as demonstrated by the decrease of 6β-hydroxytestosterone formation to a typically female level, and by the cessation of 16α-hydroxytestosterone production. 7α-Hydroxytestosterone formation, which is not sex-dependent, is not affected by this oestrogenization.
GRAVES' DIEASE AND HASHIMOTO'S THYROIDITIS IN MONOZYGOUS TWINS
Authors: Chertow Bruce S. , Fidler William J. , Fariss Bruce L.
Published: December 2008

Monozygous twins and their family were studied. One twin had Graves' disease and the other had Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Their mother had Hashimoto's thyroiditis and their maternal grandmother and maternal great aunt had hyperthyroidism. Thyroid biopsies were obtained in each of the twins and showed changes of Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, respectively. High concentrations of anti-thyroid microsomal and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies were present by competitive protein binding assay, but LATS was absent in the twins and their mother. The occurrence of Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis in monozygotic twins supports the concept of a common genetic aetiologic factor in the basic pathogenesis of these two diseases; however, the expression of this factor is variable, acquired, and, at least in part, genetically independent.
IMITATION OF THE ADRENO-CORTICAL RESPONSE TO SURGERY BY INTRAVENOUS INFUSION OF SYNTHETIC HUMAN ACTH
Authors: Kehlet Henrik , Binder Christian , Engbæk Christen
Published: December 2008

The concentration of plasma corticosteroids was followed during major surgery and during the infusion of synthetic human ACTH at dose rates varying from 2400 ng to 15 000 ng per hour.

The results showed that the time course of plasma corticosteroids during major surgery was intermediate between that obtained during the infusion of 7500 and 15 000 ng synthetic human ACTH per hour.

This gives an estimated ACTH secretion rate during major surgery of between 7500 ng and 15 000 ng per hour.
RADIOIMMUNOASSAY OF PROGESTERONE IN PERIPHERAL PLASMA OF THE DOMESTIC FOWL IN VARIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL STATES AND IN FOLLICULAR VENOUS PLASMA
Authors: Furr B. J. A.
Published: December 2008

A radioimmunoassay for the estimation of progesterone in plasma from the domestic fowl is described. Antibodies were raised in goats to progesterone conjugated at the 11 position of the steroid nucleus to bovine serum albumin. An antiserum of high specificity was obtained which allowed the estimation of progesterone in extracts of plasma without purification. The sensitivity of the assay, which was 25 pg using an antiserum dilution of 1:8000, allows the determination of progesterone in 200 μl plasma. The accuracy and precision of the method were highly satisfactory.

Plasma progesterone levels in laying hens ranged from 0.67–9.60 ng ml−1 with a mean value of 3.13 ± 0.37 ng ml−1 but were low (< 0.10–0.67 ng ml−1) in plasma from moulting, ovariectomised and hypophysectomised hens and in plasma of intact and castrated cockerels. Progesterone concentrations in blood obtained from a follicular vein ranged from 12.8–133.1 ng ml−1; these values were 8–50 times higher than in peripheral blood collected concurrently. The results suggest that high concentrations of progesterone found in the blood of laying hens are associated with the ovulatory cycle and that the preovulatory follicle secretes significant amounts of progesterone.
TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE HUMAN ENDOMETRIUM
Authors: Hagenfeldt K. , Plantin L. O. , Diczfalusy E.
Published: December 2008

Using neutron activation analysis, the levels of zinc, copper and manganese were estimated in the endometrium, cervical mucus and blood plasma in seven women at various phases of the normal menstrual cycle. The zinc concentration of the endometrium was lowest in the late proliferative phase (cycle days 10–12); it gradually increased thereafter and reached its highest level during the late secretory phase (cycle days 25–27). No significant changes were found in the zinc levels of cervical mucus and plasma.

The copper concentration of the endometrium was lowest around the expected time of ovulation (cycle days 14–15) and highest in the mid- and late secretory endometrium (cycle days 20–27). The copper concentration of the cervical mucus and plasma did not show any significant changes. The endometrial and plasma patterns of manganese differed strikingly from those of zinc and copper. The endometrial pattern was characterized by a peak concentration in the early proliferative phase (cycle days 6–8). Furthermore, the manganese concentration of the proliferative endometrium was higher than that of the secretory endometrium. Also the plasma levels of manganese were significantly higher during the proliferative phase (cycle days 6–15) than during the secretory phase (cycle days 16–27). The manganese content of the cervical mucus was lowest at the expected time of ovulation (cycle days 14–15).
QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL STEROIDS FORMED BY HUMAN PLACENTAS PERFUSED WITH LABELLED CHOLESTEROL IN VITRO
Authors: Telegdy G. , Robin M. , Diczfalusy E.
Published: December 2008

Three midgestation and three term placentas were perfused in vitro each with 5 mCi of [7α-3H] cholesterol. Perfusions were carried out at 37°C for 120 minutes, using diluted blood oxygenated with an air + CO2 mixture (23.1% O2 + 3.6% CO2).

Radiochemically homogenous pregnenolone, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone and 17β-oestradiol were isolated from each placenta and each perfusate. Carbon-14 labelled internal standards were used in order to assess procedural losses.

On an average 0.01 per cent of the perfused cholesterol was converted to the four steroids studied by midgestation placentas and 0.015 per cent by term placentas.

Approximately equal amounts of the individual steroids were recovered from the placentas and from the perfusates. The amounts of pregnenolone + progesterone isolated exceeded those of dehydroepiandrosterone + 17β-oestradiol by a factor of 7 to 8.

It is suggested that the human placenta is capable of converting circulating cholesterol not only to pregnenolone and progesterone, but also to dehydroepiandrosterone and 17β-oestradiol.
AMOUNTS OF GONADOTROPHINS REQUIRED FOR NORMAL FOLLICULAR GROWTH IN HYPOPHYSECTOMIZED ADULT RATS
Authors: Welschen R.
Published: December 2008

Rats were hypophysectomized at oestrus, at days 1, 2 and 3 of dioestrus or at pro-oestrus. They were injected with various doses of PMS only, or with combinations of PMS and HCG, in such a way that fairly constant blood levels could be expected, and killed 24 h later.

It was found that the minimal doses of substitutional gonadotrophins, required to maintain normal follicular growth, were considerably higher during the period from pro-oestrus to oestrus (when a new generation of follicles begin to develop) than during all the other periods investigated. This peak requirement primarily concerned PMS. The minimal requirements during other periods showed only minor variations. The maximal doses which still caused normal follicular growth were higher during the period from dioestrus −1 to −3 than during the period from oestrus to dioestrus −1 and the period from dioestrus −3 to pro-oestrus.

The data suggest that during pro-oestrus very high amounts of FSH are required to recruite a new crop of follicles, whereas during the other phases, low levels of both FSH and LH are generally needed for normal follicular growth.
EFFECT OF PROGESTERONE ON THE TIME OF OVULATION IN IMMATURE RATS PRETREATED WITH PREGNANT MARE'S SERUM GONADOTROPHIN (PMSG)
Authors: Ying Shao-Yao , Meyer Roland K.
Published: December 2008

The time of ovulation in immature rats primed with 3 IU PMSG on day 22 of age was between 1:00 and 4:00 a. m. on day 25 as determined by the presence of ova in the oviducts. When 0.5 mg progesterone was given at 10:00 a. m. on day 24, ovulation was between 1:00 and 2:00 a. m. on day 25. However, ovulation was advanced to 11:00 p. m. of day 24 when 0.5 or 2.0 mg progesterone was injected at 5:30 a. m. on day 24. In animals pretreated with 12 IU PMSG. ovulation occurred between 10:00 p. m. of day 24 and 2:00 a. m. of day 25 when the same steroid (2.0 mg) was given at 5:30 a. m. on day 24.

Ovulation was inhibited with 4.5 mg phenobarbital injected at 10:30 a. m. or 11:00 a. m. on day 24 in progesterone-injected rats which had been pretreated with 3 or 12 IU PMSG, respectively, indicating that the critical period has been shifted forward by 3 hours. The highest plasma LH occurred at 3:00 and 8:00 p. m. on day 24 in rats primed with 3 IU PMSG alone, whereas the highest plasma LH in rats injected with 3 IU PMSG and progesterone occurred at 10:00 a. m. and 3:00 p. m. of day 24, as determined by a modified method of the ovarian ascorbic acid depletion (OAAD) assay. It is concluded that progesterone advanced the time of ovulation by shifting forward the critical period and causing an adequate release of ovulatory gonadotrophins between 10:00 a. m. and 3:00 p. m. on the day preceding ovulation.
INHIBITION BY HUMAN SERUM OF THE ADIPOKINETIC EFFECT OF A HUMAN PITUITARY LIPID-MOBILIZING FACTOR
Authors: Trygstad Olav , Foss Irene
Published: December 2008

A lipid mobilizing factor (LMF) with an adipotrophic effect in man and animal adipose tissue has been prepared from human pituitary glands. In vitro studies have demonstrated that the lipolytic effect was dependent on the albumin used in the incubation medium. Two of the six albumins studied depressed the release of non-esterified fatty acids from human fat pads. Polyacrylamide gel disc-electrophoresis demonstrated the presence of contaminations in purchased serum albumins. They were eliminated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, which gave one fraction that inhibited the adipokinetic effect of LMF, and a more homogeneous albumin fraction. In vitro lipolysis in rabbit as well as in human fat pads occurred more readily in the media containing purified serum albumin than in media with purchased serum albumin. It was concluded that in vitro lipolysis gives comparable results when studied in media containing the same batch of serum albumin only. Furthermore an agent should not be claimed to be non-lipolytic until it has been assayed in several, preferably homogeneous serum albumin media.
THE EFFECTS OF PHENYLBUTAZONE ON THYROID FUNCTION
Authors: Abiodun M. O. , Bird R. , Havard C. W. H. , Sood N. K.
Published: December 2008

It is known that phenylbutazone suppresses the thyroidal uptake of radioactive iodine and the serum level of protein-bound iodine (PBI) during the first week of treatment, with a return to normal values after 2 weeks of continuous treatment. Up till now the initial suppression of thyroid function has been presumed due to inhibition of TSH secretion.

In the present study, total serum thyroxine and percentage dialysable thyroxine have been measured and the serum absolute free thyroxine concentration calculated in 12 patients before starting treatment with phenylbutazone orally, after 4 days of treatment and again after 14 days. Serum TSH was assayed in 10 of these patients before, and on the 4th day of treatment. Sera were assayed for TSH after 14 days on the drug in 6 patients.

On the 4th day of treatment, the levels of total thyroxine had fallen but the levels of free thyroxine remained unchanged. TSH levels were also unaltered.

By the 14th day of treatment, free thyroxine levels had fallen significantly below pre-treatment values but no significant rise in TSH could be demonstrated in the 6 patients studied.

At no time was there a fall in TSH levels and we conclude that suppression of some thyroid function tests during the first week of treatment with phenylbutazone is due to direct inhibition of the gland by the drug.
A MAJOR PATHWAY OF ADRENAL C19-Δ5-STEROID METABOLISM UNDER CONDITIONS OF STRESS: FORMATION OF 16α-HYDROXYANDROST-5-ENES
Authors: Adams J. B. , Salasoo Sylvia
Published: December 2008

Changes in urinary steroid metabolites, following moderate and major surgery, have been investigated in 10 patients. In the majority of cases decreases in 17-ketosteroids were observed 7 days post-operatively and these were paralleled by an increase in 16-hydroxyandrost-5-enes (androst-5-ene-3β,16α-diol-17-one and androst-5-ene-3β,16α,17β-triol). The ratio of 16-hydroxyandrost-5-enes to the sum of 17-ketosteroids plus 16-hydroxyandrost-5-enes increased from an average of 0.24 pre-operatively to 0.58 post-operatively, in these cases. When corrections were made for losses, the increase in 16α-hydroxyandrost-5-enes ranged from 0.5 to 4.0 mg per 24 hours (average 2.0 mg). One patient was followed for a period of 15 months after radical mastectomy and post-operative radiotherapy. Substantial increases in urinary 16α-hydroxyandrost-enes occurred up to 9 weeks post-operatively. The levels subsequently decreased, but increased again when recurrence and plural effusion occurred. A linear relationship between the level of urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroids and the sum of 17-ketosteroids and 16α-hydroxyandrost-5-enes was found over this time period. It is evident that the lowered levels of 17-ketosteroids observed in conditions of stress can be explained by altered metabolic pathways – one major pathway being the formation of 16α-hydroxy-androst-5-enes.
THE EFFECT OF HYPOTHALAMIC STIMULATION AND PROGESTERONE ON OVULATION IN FEMALE RATS TREATED WITH THE OESTROGEN ANTAGONIST ICI 46,474
Authors: McDonald P. G.
Published: December 2008

A single dose (0.2 mg) of the antioestrogen ICI 46,474 at 15:00 h on the second day of dioestrus inhibited ovulation in the female rat. This inhibition could not be overcome by electrochemical stimulation of the basal hypothalamus on the afternoon of pro-oestrus. In contrast, progesterone (1.0 mg) treatment at 10:30 h on pro-oestrus induced ovulation at the expected time. The facilitatory effect of progesterone was prevented by administration of Nembutal (35 mg/kg) at 11:00 h on pro-oestrus. Progesterone did not induce ovulation in rats treated with ICI 46,474 on both dioestrus day 1 and 2. Sexual receptivity in ovariectomized oestradiol-treated (2.0 μg/day) rats was significantly depressed by the antioestrogen (1.0 mg/day) whether it was given 1 h before, 1 h after, or at the same time as the oestradiol. The compound also prevented the uterine weight increase in response to oestradiol but exerted a significant effect on uterine weight itself when compared to oil treated controls.
SPECIFIC BINDING OF OESTRADIOL IN HUMAN UTERINE TISSUE
Authors: Trams G. , Engel B. , Lehmann F. , Maass H.
Published: December 2008

Oestradiol receptors in human uteri were measured by the uptake-competition technique with tissue slices and by agar gel electrophoresis of soluble cytoplasmic oestradiol receptor complexes.

The concentration of spare receptor was found to be markedly higher during the proliferative phase as compared to the secretory phase of the cycle and was inversely correlated to the concentrations of free oestrogen in the blood.
ACTION OF THYROTROPHIN (TSH) ON THYROID PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN VIVO AND IN VITRO
Authors: Wägar Gustav , Ekholm Ragnar , Björkman Ulla
Published: December 2008

The effect of TSH on the incorporation of L-14C-leucine into thyroid proteins was studied in vivo in rats as well as in vitro on bovine thyroid slices and a microsomal subfraction.

It was found that TSH reduced the incorporation of radio-leucine into the proteins of slices during the first 2 hours when the concentration of non-labelled leucine in the incubation medium was low. When cold leucine was added to the medium this inhibitory effect was no longer observed. After 6 hours a stimulatory effect on the radio-leucine incorporation by TSH was obvious at both low and high leucine concentrations. The incorporation of 14C-leucine into proteins by the microsomal fraction incubated with a pH 5-fraction was reduced by TSH but this inhibitory effect of TSH disapperaed when post-microsomal supernatant, containing free amino acids, was added to the incubation mixture. It is suggested that the apparent inhibitory effect of TSH on protein synthesis in thyroid slices is due to an altered ratio labelled/non-labelled leucine, caused by stimulation of proteolysis by TSH. This explanation does not seem applicable, however, to the similar apparently inhibitory effect of TSH on protein synthesis observed in the microsomal fraction.

In the in vivo experiments a stimulation of the incorporation of labelled leucine could not be observed until 4 hours after the TSH administration. It is suggested that this apparently slow effect of TSH on protein synthesis might be explained either by an indirect effect of TSH on protein synthesis or by a TSH-induced change of the ratio labelled/non-labelled leucine.
IMMUNOREACTIVE LUTEINIZING HORMONE AND PROGESTERONE DURING PREGNANCY AND FOLLOWING GONADOTROPHIN ADMINISTRATION IN BEAGLE BITCHES
Authors: Jones Gwyneth E. , Boyns A. R. , Bell E. T. , Christie D. W. , Parkes M. F.
Published: December 2008

Immunoreactive canine luteinizing hormone (IRCLH) and progesterone were measured in the plasma of Beagle bitches. Changes in plasma hormone concentrations during pregnancy were similar to those seen in the non-pregnant animal during metoestrus. Administration of pregnant mares' serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) to anoestrous bitches induced oestrus. However, the duration of progesterone secretion was shorter than that seen in pregnant bitches. Treatment appeared to stimulate the secretion of IRCLH and in some animals plasma levels reached a maximum some weeks after the end of oestrus.
THE EXCRETION OF C-16 OXYGENATED NEUTRAL STEROID SULPHATES AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE SULPHATE IN NORMAL PREGNANCY, AND A COMPARISON WITH THEIR EXCRETION BY ENDOCRINOLOGICALLY NORMAL SUBJECTS OF BOTH SEXES
Authors: Seth J. , Pennington G. W.
Published: December 2008

The respective mean 24 h urinary excretions of sulphoconjugated 16α-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone, 16-oxo-androstenediol, and dehydroepiandrosterone were found to be 1040, 230, and 668 μg/24 h for normal males, and 621, 209, and 304 μg/24 h for normal non-pregnant females. None of the differences in mean steroid excretions between males and non-pregnant females was statistically significant according to the usual criterion for significance (P < 0.05).

The mean excretions of sulphoconjugated 16α-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone, 16-oxo-androstenediol and dehydroepiandrosterone between the 10th week of normal pregnancy and term were 1300, 505 and 226 μg/24 h respectively. No significant trend in the excretions of these neutral steroid sulphates between the 10th week of pregnancy and term could be detected.

The increased excretion of both C-16 oxygenated steroid sulphates in pregnancy was highly significant (P < 0.001). In contrast, the statistical significance of the difference in excretion of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate between pregnant and non-pregnant females could not be established.

There did not appear to be any relationship between the excretion of 16α-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and oestriol in normal pregnancy.

The results are considered to be consistent with a limited transplacental passage of neutral steroids from the foetoplacental to maternal circulation.
THE EFFECT OF INTRAVENOUSLY ADMINISTERED HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPHIN ON PLASMA LEVELS OF TESTOSTERONE AND 5α-DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE IN NORMAL MALE SUBJECTS
Authors: Maurer W. , Volkwein U. , Tamm J.
Published: December 2008

HCG was infused intravenously into normal male subjects. The doses administered were 500, 100 and 50 IU, respectively. During the initial phase of the infusions the plasma testosterone (T) levels decreased. Thirty minutes after starting the infusion of 500 and 100 IU HCG, respectively, the plasma testosterone increased. Significantly elevated values were observed 60 to 180 minutes after the cessation of HCG administration. The dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations in the plasma showed a varying pattern. On the average this steroid also exhibited an increase in plasma following the HCG administration. From the results no conclusions can be drawn as to the extent to which the plasma concentrations of DHT have been influenced by a secretion from the testes or by a peripheral conversion of T into DHT.
ELECTROPHORETIC IDENTITY OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE PITUITARY AND SERUM PROLACTINS IN THE LACTATING AND PERPHENAZINETREATED RAT
Authors: Ben-David M. , Chrambach A.
Published: December 2008

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at neutral pH, 0°C, was used to test the identity of prolactin derived from serum and pituitary extracts of rats. Animals were studied after treatment with perphenazine, a prolactin releasing agent, and during post partum lactation. After gel electrophoresis, the position on the gel of prolactin activity was determined by the pigeon crop-sac bioassay. The biologically active prolactin exhibited identical electrophoretic mobility, whether derived from serum or pituitary, of either normal lactating or perphenazine treated rats.
NON-TOXIC GOITRE
Authors: Agerbæk Hans
Published: December 2008

Among 50 consecutive patients operated on for non-toxic goitre, ten had an iodine dynamic pattern compatible with dyshormonogenesis, i. e. a high absolute iodine uptake (AIU) in the thyroid gland or a positive perchlorate discharge test. Extensive investigations of the ten patients were performed including chromatography of the serum, urine and thyroid gland digest.

Six of the ten patients had dyshormonogenesis. Two patients had an iodine organification defect as part of Pendred's syndrome. In another a coupling defect was found. One patient differed in only two respects from the patients with simple iodine deficiency; the plasma inorganic iodine (PII) was found to be normal and the patient became hypothyroid soon after operation. A patient had recurrent goitre and a raised serum TSH in spite of an elevated serum thyroxine and normal TBG. The defect in this case could be a reduced cellular sensitivity to thyroxine which included the pituitary gland. Furthermore, a case of diffuse hyperplastic parenchymatous goitre was found.

No case of a trapping defect or deiodinase defect was found. All the patients had elevated non-butanol extractable [125I] (NBEI).
COMPARTMENTAL ARRANGEMENT OF STEROIDS FORMED FROM [1-14C] ACETATE BY RAT ADRENAL ZONA GLOMERULOSA AND THE EFFECT OF CORTICOTROPHIN
Authors: Vinson G. P. , Whitehouse B. J.
Published: December 2008

Using a technique of incubation with dialysis, the secretion and compartmental arrangement of steroids derived from [3H]pregnenolone, [14C]acetate and from endogenous precursors in rat adrenal capsules (zona glomerulosa) have been studied.

In the absence of corticotrophin, 14C-labelled deoxycorticosterone and 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone tended to be non-dialysable, whereas the 3H-labelled fractions of these compounds were dialysable. Approximately equal yields of 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone and corticosterone were obtained from [14C]acetate, whereas about five times as much corticosterone as 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone was formed from [3H]pregnenolone. With the addition of Synacthen to the incubation medium, the 14C-labelled compounds, most noticeably deoxycorticosterone, were released from the bound condition, and at the same time the ratio of [14C]corticosterone to [14C]18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone altered, and became similar to the ratio for the tritium labelled material.

The data suggest that in these respects 14C-labelled steroids derived from [14C] acetate behave similarly to the material formed from endogenous precursors, and in the absence of corticotrophin may exist in a compartment of the zona glomerulosa which is not penetrable by the steroids derived from a later precursor such as [3H]pregnenolone. The two types of steroid have different metabolic fates: bound deoxycorticosterone for example, appears to be equally vulnerable to 11β- and 18-hydroxylation, whereas the free deoxycorticosterone is preferentially 11β-hydroxylated. The mechanism may be involved in the fine control of the secreted products.
THE BIOSYNTHESIS AND SECRETION OF ALDOSTERONE BY THE RAT ADRENAL ZONA GLOMERULOSA, AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COMPARTMENTAL ARRANGEMENT OF STEROIDS
Authors: Vinson G. P. , Whitehouse B. J.
Published: December 2008

The formation of aldosterone was studied in rat adrenal capsules (zona glomerulosa) using a technique of incubation with dialysis.

A number of features of aldosterone biosynthesis was observed which appeared to be inconsistent with the concept that corticosterone was a key intermediate in the pathway for aldosterone formation. These were as follows:

In incubations with [3H]pregnenolone and [14C]acetate as precursors the [3H]specific activity of aldosterone was only one-fifth of the value for corticosterone, whereas the [14C]specific activities for the same products were similar.

Pretreatment with cortisol, to suppress ACTH secretion, reduced the subsequent in vitro secretion of corticosterone but not of aldosterone. Pretreatment with Frusemide, a diuretic, stimulated secretion of aldosterone but not of corticosterone. Neither effect was correlated with any change in the transformation of [3H]pregnenolone into either compound.

Aldosterone formed from endogenous precursors or from [14C]acetate tended to be bound to a non-dialysable component in the zona glomerulosa. The binding was reduced with the addition of ACTH to the incubation flask. This contrasts with our previously reported observations on corticosterone (which is preferentially formed from 'free' precursors), but it is similar to 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone (18-OH DOC) which appears to be formed preferentially from 'bound' precursors.

From these experiments it appears that an alternative pathway for aldosterone biosynthesis may exist which tilises bound precursors (including possibly 18-OH DOC) instead of free precursors such as corticosterone.
STUDIES ON THE METABOLISM OF C19 STEROIDS IN THE FOETO-PLACENTAL UNIT
Authors: Ermini M. , Benagiano G. , Torre B. de la , Diczfalusy E.
Published: December 2008

Tritium labelled testosterone and carbon-14 labelled testosterone sulphate were administered into the intact foeto-placental circulation in two subjects at laparotomy and the principal conjugated metabolites present in the placenta and various foetal tissues, as well as unconjugated testosterone were isolated and identified. More than 99% of the carbon-14 labelled material recovered from the various sources was in a water-soluble (conjugated) form, whereas water-soluble metabolites accounted for some 42% of the tritium labelled material.

More than 70% of the carbon-14 labelled material isolated from all tissues studied, except the liver, was present in the form of testosterone sulphate; in the liver it amounted only to some 30%.

Exclusively tritium labelled unconjugated testosterone was isolated in a radiochemically homogeneous form from the placental and liver extracts, and from the combined extract of all other foetal tissues. In addition, three exclusively tritium labelled conjugated metabolites were isolated: 5α-androsterone sulphate (placenta, lungs and carcass), 5β-androsterone sulphate (placenta, liver, gastro-intestinal tract, lungs and carcass) and 3β,5β-androsterone sulphate (liver). In addition to double labelled testosterone sulphate, which was isolated from every tissue studied, double labelled 5β-dihydrotestosterone sulphate was isolated from the liver. Moreover, 5β-androstane-3α,17β-diol was isolated from the liver following solvolysis of the monosulphate fraction and 11β-hydroxytestosterone sulphate from the adrenals following solvolysis and conversion of the product to 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione.

The testosterone sulphate isolated from the adrenals exhibited the highest, and that isolated from the placenta, lungs and liver the lowest tritium to carbon-14 ratio.

It is concluded that significant quantities of testosterone are converted to testosterone sulphate by the foetal adrenals and that neither the foetus nor the placenta is capable of hydrolysing testosterone sulphate. The foetal metabolism of testosterone sulphate seems to be characterized by the formation of 5β-oriented conjugated reduction products in the liver and by the formation of 11β-hydroxytestosterone sulphate in the adrenals.
IODIDE PERCHLORATE DISCHARGE TEST IN LITHIUM-TREATED PATIENTS
Authors: Andersen B. Friis
Published: December 2008

In patients with lithium-induced goitre the conventional perchlorate discharge test is negative. With a small dose of carrier iodide the perchlorate test is more sensitive. This iodide perchlorate discharge test (IPT) was made on twelve patients, all under lithium-treatment for over one year and on fifteen control subjects. In the first group there was a greater discharge in the test than in the latter group. By increasing the lithium-doses or by stopping them, the discharge by the IPT alters correspondingly. Sensitivity to iodine is increased by lithium-treatment, perhaps because of a greater thyroid/serum ratio for iodide.