bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
INFLUENCES OF SOME ENDOCRINE GLANDS AND OF HORMONE REPLACEMENT ON THE PORPHYRINS OF THE HARDERIAN GLANDS OF MICE
Authors: SHIRAMA KAZUHIKO , FURUYA TETSUO , TAKEO YUJI , SHIMIZU KIYOSHI , MAEKAWA KYUTARO 
Published: December 2008

There are marked sex differences in the Harderian gland of the C3H/He strain of mice. Female (but not male) glands contain large amounts of porphyrin, which are readily visible as solid depositions within the lumina.
The histology and porphyrin content of the Harderian gland were examined in intact and in pregnant mice and in mice subjected to combinations of adrenalectomy, gonadectomy and administration of sex steroid hormones. In male mice, castration approximately doubled the amount of porphyrin in the Harderian gland. Castration plus adrenalectomy increased the levels over 30-fold, to levels similar to those found in female mice, although adrenalectomy alone produced no significant effect. Administration of testosterone to the male mice which had been castrated and adrenalectomized prevented the increases while progesterone treatment produced further increases in porphyrins. In intact females, the amount of porphyrin varied with the phase of the oestrous cycle; being lowest during metoestrus and highest during dioestrus. In ovariectomized–adrenalectomized females, the effects of administered sex hormones on the amount of porphyrin in the gland were the same as in males. In pregnant mice, the level was not significantly different from that in intact oestrous animals.
STUDIES ON THE MECHANISM OF SECRETION OF CORTICOSTEROIDS BY THE ISOLATED PERFUSED ADRENAL OF THE RAT
Authors: SIBLEY C. P. , WHITEHOUSE B. J. , VINSON G. P. , GODDARD C. , McCREDIE E. 
Published: December 2008

A technique for the perfusion of the rat adrenal cortex is described. With tissue culture Medium 199 the preparation was responsive in terms of steroid production to both ACTH and K+ ions. Production of corticosterone and 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone (18-hydroxy-DOC) was stimulated by ACTH when it was administered at rates between 5 μu./min and 5 mu./min. Increasing the K+ ion concentration of the perfusate from 3·6 to 5·4 and 8·9 mmol/l stimulated the production of aldosterone, 18-hydroxycorticosterone and deoxycorticosterone, although not of corticosterone or 18-hydroxy-DOC.
This preparation has been used to study further the mechanism of secretion of corticosterone and 18-hydroxy-DOC. Thus, production of these two steroids was measured at different perfusion flows, varying between 0·1 and 0·6 ml/min, with different levels of ACTH stimulation. Corticosterone production was significantly (P < 0·001) increased by increasing flows both under control conditions and when ACTH was administered at constant rates of 50 μu./min or 1 mu./min. Production of 18-hydroxy-DOC was not affected by flow either under control conditions or with 50 μu. ACTH/min. However, when ACTH was administered at 1 mu./min, 18-hydroxy-DOC production was also significantly (P < 0·001) increased by flow.
The results are consistent with those obtained in previous in-vitro studies and have been interpreted as suggesting that the main mechanism of corticosterone secretion is simple diffusion. In contrast, 18-hydroxy-DOC secretion, at least at sub-maximal levels of stimulation, appears to require a more complex process.
PITUITARY SENSITIVITY TO GONADOTROPHIN RELEASING HORMONE AFTER HYPERPROLACTINAEMIA INDUCED WITH NEUROLEPTICS AND DOMPERIDONE IN THE RAT
Authors: CARTER D. A. , WHITEHEAD S. A. 
Published: December 2008

The effect of hyperprolactinaemia induced by dopamine-antagonist drugs on pituitary responsiveness to gonadotrophin releasing hormone (Gn-RH) and on plasma LH levels has been investigated in intact and ovariectomized rats. The animals were pretreated with haloperidol, pimozide or domperidone and the sensitivity of isolated pituitary glands to pulses of Gn-RH were tested using a perifusion system. Trunk blood, collected at the time of killing, was assayed for plasma LH and prolactin. In addition, a direct effect of the drugs on pituitary responsiveness to Gn-RH was investigated by perifusing pituitary glands taken from untreated, pro-oestrous rats in medium containing the dopamine antagonists.
The pituitary responsiveness was significantly impaired in intact rats after treatment with each of the drugs whereas no effect was observed in pretreated ovariectomized rats. None of the drug treatments altered levels of circulating LH. High concentrations of the drugs present in the perifusion medium also inhibited pituitary responsiveness although it is not known whether the concentrations of the drugs present in the pretreated animals would exert a similar effect.
The results suggest that short-term hyperprolactinaemia impairs pituitary responsiveness through a modulation of ovarian steroid secretion and that Gn-RH release is not altered. Treatment with domperidone exhibited similar effects on the parameters measured here to those caused by the two neuroleptics, indicating that this novel anti-dopaminergic drug is acting in a similar manner.
FETAL TESTOSTERONE IN MICE: EFFECT OF GESTATIONAL AGE AND CANNABINOID EXPOSURE
Authors: DALTERIO S. , BARTKE A. 
Published: December 2008

The effect of increasing gestational age and maternal exposure to cannabinoids on body weight, ano-genital distance and androgen concentration in fetal mice was examined. Body weight increased in both male and female fetuses from days 16 to 18 (the presence of a vaginal plug was considered to indicate day 1 of pregnancy), while ano-genital distances tended to increase faster in male than in female fetuses. The concentration of testosterone increased with age in fetuses of either sex. However, at day 16, there was a significant influence of fetal sex on testosterone concentration with two non-overlapping distributions, one above and one below 300 pg/g fetal tissue, correlating with male and female gender respectively. After day 16, male fetuses tended to have higher testosterone concentrations, but some values obtained in females did overlap.
Treatment of female mice with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient of marihuana, from days 12 to 16 of pregnancy caused a significant (P < 0·01) increase in fetal deaths in utero. Cannabinol treatment had no effect on this parameter, but reduced body weight (P < 0·02) in female fetuses, and increased ano-genital distance (P < 0·05) in male fetal mice. The concentrations of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone were reduced in male but not in female fetuses.
The results indicate that exposure to psychoactive or non-psychoactive constituents of marihuana suppresses testosterone levels in fetal as well as in immature and adult mice, as we have previously reported. Thus, maternal exposure to cannabinoids may interfere with the process of sexual differentiation in their male offspring as a result of decreased fetal androgen production.
RELEASE OF PROTEIN WHICH BINDS PROGESTERONE FROM THE BOVINE CORPUS LUTEUM
Authors: WILLCOX D. L. , ALISON M. R. 
Published: December 2008

The nature of the proteins released together with progesterone from the bovine corpus luteum was investigated. Slices of bovine corpus luteum obtained at the mid-luteal stage of the oestrous cycle were incubated in vitro in the presence of bovine LH. Radioactive monitoring of compounds separated by gas–liquid chromatography showed that added [14C]acetate was converted to sterols and progesterone within the 2-h incubation period. Electrophoresis of the proteins recovered from the incubation medium showed the presence of a major band which migrated at the same rate as a progesterone-binding protein isolated from pooled corpora lutea. Densitometry revealed that the proteins in the incubation medium were enriched threefold in binding protein compared to those in an homogenate of corpus luteum. Equilibrium dialysis of the medium after addition of [3H]progesterone revealed the presence of a progesterone-binding activity (association constant = 106l/mol) analogous to that contained in the cytosol fraction from bovine corpus luteum.
The finding that progesterone-binding protein is released concomitantly with the hormone has implications for the granule hypothesis of steroid secretion. The existence of an intracellular steroid-binding protein complex to maintain progesterone in high intragranular concentration would be predicted from this hypothesis.
GONADOTROPHIN, TESTOSTERONE AND PROLACTIN INTERRELATIONSHIPS IN CADMIUM-TREATED RATS
Authors: ZYLBER-HARAN E. A. , GERSHMAN H. , ROSENMANN E. , SPITZ I. M. 
Published: December 2008

We have investigated the long-term effect of a single subcutaneous injection of cadmium chloride on plasma testosterone and gonadotrophin levels and the prolactin response to the dopaminergic antagonist metoclopramide in the rat. Twelve days after treatment with cadmium there was testicular necrosis, associated with a decrease in testosterone concentration and atrophy of the accessory sexual glands. By 185 days, partial recovery of the accessory sexual glands indicated by Leydig cell regeneration and a slight rise in testosterone levels had occurred. There was, however, persistent damage to the germinal epithelium. Concentrations of LH increased eightfold above controls by day 12, remained raised until 60 days and then decreased to threefold above controls at 280 days. In contrast, FSH levels reached a maximum between 60 and 130 days and remained persistently raised.
The peak prolactin response to metoclopramide in cadmium-treated rats was depressed 12 days after cadmium administration and levels remained low at 19 and 75 days. Normal prolactin responses to metoclopramide were obtained 130 days after cadmium treatment using 1·0 mg metoclopramide/kg or 280 days after treatment using 0·25 mg/kg. When control and cadmium-treated rats were castrated at 280 days and then given metoclopramide 10 days later, the prolactin response was significantly reduced. It is concluded that the impaired prolactin response to metoclopramide in cadmium-treated rats is reversible. Prolactin returns to normal in parallel with regeneration of the Leydig cells, partial restoration of the accessory sex organ weight, slight increase in plasma testosterone and decrease in LH levels. These results suggest that testosterone is not solely responsible for the maintenance of normal prolactin secretion in the male rat.
PERSISTENCE OF IMMUNOREACTIVE INSULIN, GLUCAGON AND PANCREATIC POLYPEPTIDE IN THE PLASMA OF DEPANCREATIZED CHICKENS
Authors: COLCA J. R. , HAZELWOOD R. L. 
Published: December 2008

The present study evaluates the possibility that an extra-pancreatic source of insulin exists in chickens. The effect of pancreatectomy on plasma levels of immunoreactive insulin (IRI), glucagon (IRG) and pancreatic polypeptide (IRAPP) was examined. Plasma levels of IRI, IRG and IRAPP were measured both in the basal state and after an i.v. challenge with known secretogogues at several times after pancreatectomy. The nature of the avian plasma immunoreactivity was further characterized by gel filtration.
Results indicated that plasma IRI and IRG persisted for 5 h, 24 h and 5 days after pancreatectomy. Furthermore, plasma levels of IRI and IRG remained responsive to the stimulus of i.v. arginine. The Sephadex G-50 elution profiles for IRI and IRG were similar for plasma obtained from both depancreatized and intact chickens. Postmortem tissue analyses indicated that the persistence of IRI and IRG in the depancreatized animals was not due to the presence of pancreatic remnants.
Plasma IRAPP decreased to undetectable levels 5 h after pancreatectomy. Although plasma IRAPP was measurable 1 and 5 days after pancreatectomy, these levels were not responsive to i.v. pentagastrin. Furthermore, gel filtration experiments indicated that the only form of IRAPP remaining after pancreatectomy had an apparent mol. wt of greater than 100 000. Such a compound was not secreted by the pancreas in vitro.
Evidence presented herein indicates that pancreatic polypeptide is the only pancreatic hormone to be eliminated from the circulation after pancreatectomy in chickens. It is suggested that the depancreatized chicken might be useful as a model of a 'selective' pancreatic polypeptide deficiency.
PATTERNS OF PLASMA CONCENTRATIONS OF INSULIN AND GLUCAGON AFTER INTRAVASCULAR AND INTRARUMINAL ADMINISTRATION OF VOLATILE FATTY ACIDS IN THE GOAT
Authors: DE JONG A. 
Published: December 2008

To determine whether volatile fatty acids (VFA) are involved in the regulation of plasma concentrations of insulin or glucagon in the goat, VFA, separately or in combination, were administered into the jugular vein, the portal vein or the rumen, and their effects on pancreatic hormones as well as on VFA measured in venous blood. Propionate, n-butyrate and n-valerate, but not acetate, injected in pharmacological doses, were potent stimuli not only of the secretion into the plasma of insulin but also of glucagon. As regards insulin, the response to VFA was probably not mediated to an appreciable extent by glucose or glucagon. β-Hydroxybutyrate did not mediate the effect of n-butyrate on insulin and glucagon. The effects of VFA appear to be peculiar to the ruminant since in the rat injection of similar doses resulted in either no changes or very small changes of plasma insulin and glucagon.
Intraportal infusions over 4 h of mixtures of VFA, resulting in less extreme, more physiological blood concentrations of VFA, elicited sudden transient increases in insulin and to a lesser extent in glucagon. After these peaks insulin and glucagon declined to preinfusion levels and remained virtually unaltered during the remainder of the infusion in spite of sustained, raised concentrations of VFA in the peripheral circulation. These results suggest that under these conditions the rate of increase of VFA is a signal for the secretion of pancreatic hormones. Intraruminal infusions, representing a more physiological route of administration, of single VFA at high rates resulted in a small increase in insulin for propionate infusion only, whereas a mixture of VFA at a physiological rate induced barely any change in insulin or glucagon. It is concluded that under physiological conditions the rate of increase of VFA may contribute to the insulin secretion in the free-feeding goat, but it is unlikely that VFA are the sole controlling agents of insulin release. It is even less probable that the release of glucagon is governed by VFA in the free-feeding goat.
Modulation by catecholamines and thyrotrophin of cyclic AMP response to β-adrenergic stimulation by cultured porcine thyroid cells
Authors: Dumas D. , Charrier B. , Margotat A. , Mauchamp J. 
Published: December 2008

Thyroid cell cyclic AMP synthesis is stimulated by β-adrenergic agonists. We have characterized this sensitivity on cultured porcine thyroid cells and have studied its modulation by chronic treatment with thyrotrophin.
The synthesis of cyclic AMP in intact porcine thyroid cells in primary culture was stimulated by the β-adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol. This stimulation was dose-dependent and was inhibited by the β-adrenergic antagonists propranolol and alprenolol. The cell responsiveness (i.e. the response elicited by 5 μm-isoproterenol after 5-min stimulation) was increased when the cells were cultured in the absence of thyrotrophin. Thyrotrophin, when present in the culture medium at the onset of culturing, inhibited this increase. A concentration of 100 μu. thyrotrophin/ml was sufficient to reduce the cyclic AMP response to 15% of its control value. Prostaglandin E2 or dibutyryl cyclic AMP did not mimic the effect of thyrotrophin. The low sensitivity of thyrotrophin-treated cells to β-adrenergic agonists could be explained by a decreased number of β-adrenergic receptors. [125I]Iodohydroxybenzyl pindolol specific binding was ten times greater in membrane preparations of control cells than in membranes derived from thyrotrophin-treated cells. The β-adrenergic sensitivity of cultured thyroid cells was also decreased after long-term treatment by terbutaline. A time- and dose-dependent desensitization was observed.
Effects of metoclopramide and bromocriptine on prolactin secretion in the pregnant ewe
Authors: Fitzgerald B. P. , Cunningham F. J. 
Published: December 2008

Metoclopramide and bromocriptine, drugs which are respectively antagonistic and agonistic to dopamine receptor activity, were used to investigate the control of prolactin secretion in the ewe during pregnancy. Normal concentrations of prolactin were found during pregnancy, i.e. values were low and stable during the first 100 days but thereafter increased progressively to reach maximum values at day 140. Treatment with bromocriptine suppressed levels to undetectable values (< 1·4 μg/l plasma) between days 40 and 100 of pregnancy. Later in gestation, however, bromocriptine administered between days 120 and 140 was less effective, indicating that the pituitary gland was less responsive to the same degree of inhibition. Treatment with metoclopramide alone provoked a progressively greater release of prolactin as pregnancy advanced whereas in bromocriptine-treated animals an associated release of prolactin in response to metoclopramide was seen only between days 120 and 140 of pregnancy.
These results are interpreted as evidence that the raised concentrations of prolactin characteristic of late pregnancy in the ewe are due to a reduced responsiveness of the pituitary gland to inhibitory stimuli, or to a decreased secretion of endogenous dopamine into the hypophysial portal blood system or to both.
Oestrogen induction of progestin receptors in the rat brain and pituitary gland: quantitative and kinetic aspects
Authors: Clark C. R. , MacLusky N. J. , Naftolin F. 
Published: December 2008

The processes of oestrogen-receptor binding, translocation and nuclear processing in the pituitary gland, preoptic area (POA), mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) and amygdala were explored in relation to the induction of cytosol progestin receptors (PRc). Ovariectomized rats were injected i.v. with a single saturating dose (3·6 μg/kg body wt) of oestradiol-17β (OE2). At various times thereafter cytosol (ERc) and salt-extractable nuclear (ERn) oestrogen-receptor concentrations were determined by exchange assay. In all four tissues at 1 h after injection ERc fell and ERn increased, suggesting translocation of ERc into the nucleus. The extent of ERc depletion, however, was not identical in all tissues: substantially less depletion was observed in the amygdala (34%) and POA–MBH (56%) than in the pituitary gland (74%). Depletion of ERc was followed by a phase of replenishment, restoring ERc to preinjection values by 24 h. Concentrations of ERn in all tissues declined between 1 and 24 h, concomitant with the replenishment of ERc.
Concentrations of PRc in the pituitary gland and POA–MBH increased during the first 12 h after injection of OE2 to a plateau value between 12 and 24 h, then declined to control values by 72 h. No induction of PRc was seen in the amygdala. A second injection of OE2 2 h after the first injection refilled the nuclear binding sites, restoring ERn to levels indistinguishable from those seen 1 h after a single OE2 treatment. The extent of ERc depletion after two injections with OE2 was, however, proportionately less than that seen after a single treatment with OE2. The second OE2 injection raised PRc concentrations above those seen after a single injection in the POA–MBH but not in the pituitary gland. When the two OE2 injections were more widely spaced (14 h apart) the PRc response in both the pituitary gland and POA–MBH was greater than after a single OE2 injection, and was comparable to that seen in animals given a very large dose (360 μg/kg body wt) of OE2. These results confirm the existence of differences between the pituitary gland, POA–MBH and amygdala in the ERc and PRc responses to oestrogen treatment. In addition, they suggest that the PRc response of the pituitary gland and POA–MBH to OE2 is influenced by previous exposure to OE2.
Increased steroidogenesis by rat zona glomerulosa cells with increased cell concentration in vitro: evidence for a novel aldosterone-stimulating factor and implications regarding aldosterone biosynthesis
Authors: Campbell D. J. 
Published: December 2008

A fourfold increase in the concentration of rat zona glomerulosa cells incubated in Krebs–Ringer bicarbonate buffer (KRBGA) increased aldosterone production per cell twofold. This cell concentration associated (CCA) increase in aldosterone production showed a dose–response relationship with the number of cells per incubation and was further increased in modified Medium 199, compared with KRBGA.
The combination of a fourfold increase in cell concentration with each of maximally steroidogenic concentrations of K+, angiotensin II, ACTH, 5-hydroxytryptamine or cyclic AMP produced an increase in aldosterone production greater than that predicted from the algebraic sum of the steroidogenic effects of the factors acting separately.
The CCA increase in basal aldosterone production was maximal during the first 30 min of incubation, could not be accounted for by accumulation of corticosterone in the incubation medium and was largely or completely abolished by the addition of pregnenolone, progesterone, deoxycorticosterone or corticosterone to the incubation medium. Together, these data support the proposal that the CCA effect was due to a novel aldosterone-stimulating factor which increased aldosterone production by stimulating pregnenolone formation.
The aldosterone and corticosterone responses to exogenous pregnenolone, progesterone, deoxycorticosterone and corticosterone demonstrated that aldosterone and corticosterone production by zona glomerulosa cells in vitro may represent separate biosynthetic pathways. Furthermore, these studies provided evidence for a mechanism by which increased levels of exogenous pregnenolone, progesterone and deoxycorticosterone were able to increase their per cent conversion to aldosterone, but not to corticosterone.
Effect of oestradiol benzoate or luteinizing hormone on levels of progesterone in the pseudopregnant rat
Authors: de Greef W. J. , Uilenbroek J. Th. J. , de Jong F. H. 
Published: December 2008

The present study was concerned with a possible involvement of LH in the process of functional luteolysis in the pseudopregnant rat.
Daily injections with 2 μg ovine LH during pseudopregnancy reduced peripheral and ovarian levels of progesterone in intact and hysterectomized rats and in hypophysectomized rats with a pituitary transplant under the kidney capsule. However, a daily dose of 10 μg LH did not alter the levels of progesterone. A short-lasting decrease in plasma progesterone occurred when endogenous levels of LH were temporarily raised in pseudopregnant rats by a single injection of LH releasing hormone (LH-RH). Treatment with LH or LH-RH, however, did not shorten the duration of pseudopregnancy.
Daily treatment of pseudopregnant rats with 5 or 20 ng oestradiol benzoate, but not with 1000 ng, decreased plasma levels of progesterone. On the other hand, daily treatment with oestradiol benzoate did not affect plasma progesterone in pseudopregnant rats which were hypophysectomized and had an ectopic pituitary gland. Plasma levels of LH were not increased in the animals receiving 5 or 20 ng oestradiol benzoate daily, suggesting that the effect of oestradiol benzoate on plasma progesterone is not through an enhanced secretion of LH. Treatment with oestradiol benzoate did not affect the duration of pseudopregnancy.
In conclusion, low doses of LH can reduce peripheral levels of progesterone during pseudopregnancy, but it seems improbable that LH is involved in the process of functional luteolysis. Furthermore, low doses of oestradiol benzoate can also decrease plasma progesterone, but the mechanisms involved are still not understood.