bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Endogenous opioid peptide modulation of LH secretion in the ewe lamb: possible involvement of 5-hydroxytryptamine
Authors: Stansfield S. C. , Knight P. G. , Howles C. M. , Cunningham F. J. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Evidence from several species suggests that the endogenous opioid peptides participate in the regulation of gonadotrophin and prolactin secretion. The aim of the present study involving intact and ovariectomized prepubertal ewe lambs was to compare the effects in vivo of an opioid peptide agonist d-Ala2,N-Phe4,Met(0)ol5]-enkephalin (FK 33–824) and antagonist, naloxone, on concentrations of LH and prolactin in plasma, and levels of neurotransmitter metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), with their effects in vitro on the release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and neurotransmitters from isolated median eminences.
Infusion of FK 33–824 (0·5 mg/30 min) in vivo depressed plasma LH levels in both intact and ovariectomized lambs; this effect could be reversed by naloxone. In ovariectomized lambs, the inhibitory action of FK 33–824 on plasma LH levels was associated with a 13% rise in the concentration of the metabolite of 5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA). Concurrent administration of naloxone resulted in an abrupt 33% fall in CSF levels of 5-HIAA.
No significant changes in plasma concentrations of prolactin or CSF concentrations of the metabolites of dopamine were observed in response to the administration of FK 33–824 or FK 33–824 plus naloxone.
That FK 33–824 inhibited LH release through a central mechanism was confirmed using superfused median eminences in vitro. Thus FK 33–824 (1 μmol/l) greatly diminished the release of GnRH induced by the introduction of a depolarizing stimulus (36 mmol K+/l) in tissue obtained from both intact and ovariectomized ewe lambs. Since neurotransmitter levels in superfusate samples were below the limit of detection of the high-performance liquid chromatography assay, it remains to be ascertained whether FK 33–824 concomitantly affected neurotransmitter release.
These results lead us to conclude that FK 33–824 inhibits the secretion of LH, but not prolactin, in intact and ovariectomized prepubertal ewe lambs. The action of FK 33–824 is mediated, at the level of the median eminence, through a reduction of GnRH release. It is tentatively suggested that FK 33–824 may exert this inhibitory effect by stimulating the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine.
J. Endocr. (1988) 116, 403–411
Action of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on phospholipid metabolism of human bone cells in culture
Authors: Haining S. A. , Galloway J. H. , Brown B. L. , Guilland-Cumming D. F. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
It has recently been proposed that the action of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) on bone metabolism may be mediated by changes in phospholipid metabolism. The effects of vitamin D metabolites on the incorporation of radiolabelled precursors into corresponding phospholipid classes were investigated using cells arising from cultured explants of normal human bone with osteoblast-like characteristics. Treatment with 1,25-(OH)2D3 increased the incorporation of serine, measured as the ratio of [3H]serine in phosphatidylserine (PS) to [14C]ethanolamine in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The maximum effect on PS/PE of 141·6 ± 5·9% over control (P = 0·022) was observed at a dose of 0·1 nmol 1,25-(OH)2D3/l, maintained for 24 h. Incubations with 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (0·1 μmol/l) and 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (10 nmol/l) had no effect. Supraphysiological doses (0·1 μmol/l) of 1,24,25- and 1,25,26-trihydroxyvitamin D3 showed similar effects to those of 1,25-(OH)2D3, emphasizing the importance of 1α-hydroxylation. Incorporation of [14C]choline into phosphatidylcholine, calculated as a ratio to PE, was not affected by treatment with vitamin D metabolites. However, [3H]inositol uptake into phosphatidylinositol was almost doubled when compared with control uptake within 2 h of treatment with 1,25-(OH)2D3 (0·1 μmol/l). This may be of relevance, considering the importance of phosphoinositide metabolism in influencing the intracellular calcium concentration. These results support a role for 1,25-(OH)2D3 in the modulation of phospholipid metabolism in human bone cells, which in turn may be involved in the action of 1,25-(OH)2D3 in bone mineralization.
J. Endocr. (1988) 116,435–441
Changes with age in the number and size of anterior pituitary cells in female mice from suckling to adulthood
Authors: Sasaki F. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Changes with age in the number and size of anterior pituitary cells in female mice were calculated during their postnatal development by using a stereological morphometric study with electron microscopy. The number of parenchymal cells increased in mice from 20 to 30 days of age, and did not change around puberty, after which the number increased to the adult level. The number of somatotrophs increased with age in almost the same manner as the parenchymal cells. The number of lactotrophs increased with age and were significantly different each time they were measured. The number of non-granulated cells did not increase in mice from 20 days of age to adulthood; at 20 days of age, the number was at the same level as in the adult mice. The other types of cells increased by only a small number.
The sizes of all types of cells increased during postnatal life. Somatotrophs and lactotrophs became the same size as in adults by the onset of puberty. Non-granulated cells and other types of cells reached adult size at 5 days after puberty. Lactotrophs and somatotrophs had adult ultrastructural features on the day of puberty.
Sizes and ultrastructural features of anterior pituitary cells reached adult levels on the day of puberty, but their numbers were still fewer than in adult mice.
The increase in the volume of the anterior pituitary with age arose mostly from an increase in the number and the size of somatotrophs and lactotrophs before puberty, increases in the size of somatotrophs and the number of lactotrophs around puberty, and an increase in the number of both types of cells after puberty.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117,5–10
Immunoreactive vasopressin and oxytocin in hypothalamo-hypophysial portal blood of the Brattleboro and Long–Evans rat: effect of adrenalectomy and dexamethasone
Authors: Eckland D. J. A. , Todd K. , Lightman S. L. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Immunoreactive vasopressin and oxytocin were measured in the hypothalamo-hypophysial portal blood of both Long–Evans and homozygous Brattleboro rats. Adrenalectomy caused an increase in vasopressin immunoreactivity in portal blood in the Long–Evans strain, whilst administration of dexamethasone to these adrenalectomized animals resulted in a reduction in portal vasopressin immunoreactivity to levels below those seen in sham-operated animals. This vasopressin immunoreactivity co-eluted with synthetic vasopressin on high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), and diluted in parallel in radioimmunoassay. In Brattleboro rats, however, although vasopressin-like immunoreactivity was detected, the portal concentration did not vary with the adrenal status of the animal, nor did it show the characteristics of standard vasopressin on HPLC or in immunoassay. Oxytocin was present in the portal blood of both Long–Evans and Brattleboro rats at similar very high concentrations, but did not vary in response to adrenalectomy. These results are consistent with a role for vasopressin, but not oxytocin, in the hypothalamic response to adrenalectomy and glucocorticoid feedback. Neither vasopressin immunoreactivity nor oxytocin appear to subserve this role in the homozygous Brattleboro rat.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 27–34
Interaction of endogenous chicken gonadotrophin-releasing hormone-I and -II on chicken pituitary cells
Authors: King J. A. , Davidson J. S. , Millar R. P. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The presence of two endogenous forms of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in the chicken hypothalamus (chicken GnRH-I ([Gln8]GnRH) and chicken GnRH-II ([His5,Trp7,Tyr8]GnRH)), and the stimulation of gonadotrophins by both forms, suggests the possible existence of GnRH receptor subtypes and gonadotroph subtypes in the chicken pituitary. This question was investigated by assessing the effects of various combinations of the two known forms of chicken hypothalamic GnRH and antagonist analogues of GnRH on LH release from dispersed chicken anterior pituitary cells in both static and perifused systems. The relative inhibition of chicken GnRH-I-stimulated and chicken GnRH-II-stimulated LH release by 12 GnRH antagonists did not differ significantly, suggesting a single GnRH receptor type. Chicken GnRH-II was approximately sixfold more potent than chicken GnRH-I in releasing LH. Release of LH in response to maximal doses of chicken GnRH-I and chicken GnRH-II and to a mixture of both was similar and the two peptides were not additive in their effects, consistent with the presence of a single type of LH gonadotroph and a GnRH receptor which binds both forms of GnRH. Each form of GnRH desensitized cells to subsequent stimulation with the other form, providing additional evidence for a single type of LH gonadotroph. These findings suggest that chicken GnRH-I and -II stimulate gonadotrophin release through a single GnRH receptor type on a single class of LH gonadotroph in the chicken pituitary.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117,43–49
Characterization of immunoreactive dynorphin in human phaeochromocytomas
Authors: Howlett T. A. , Besser G. M. , Rees L. H. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The prodynorphin-derived opioids, dynorphin (DYN) and α-neoendorphin (αNE) were studied in 24 human phaeochromocytomas and related tumours. Nineteen tumours, extracted in HCl (0·1 mol/l), contained concentrations of immunoreactive DYN (ir-DYN) ranging from < 0·5 to 794 pmol/g wet weight. None of the extracts in HCl contained ir-αNE (all < 2·4 pmol/g). Sephadex G-50 gel filtration chromatography of ir-DYN in HCl (0·1 mol/l) extracts of six tumours revealed three small peaks of ir-DYN of higher molecular size (approximately 12 000, 6000 and 3000 daltons), a minor peak of ir-DYN eluting just after DYN(1–17), and a broad major peak, consisting of at least three components, which was significantly retarded and eluted after the salt volume of the column. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of these extracts revealed multiple peaks of ir-DYN, most of which did not coelute with any synthetic DYN peptides. On both gel filtration chromatography and HPLC, one of the minor peaks coeluted with DYN(1–32). None of the peaks of ir-DYN coeluted with DYN(1–17) which had been acetylated using acetic anhydride.
Extracts of the same tumours in acetic acid (0·1 mol/l) yielded similar values for ir-DYN content, but parallelism in the assay was improved. Sephadex G-50 chromatography revealed a different pattern of ir-DYN with a major peak coeluting with DYN(1–17) and, in two tumours, a minor peak coeluting with DYN(1–8). Studies with HPLC revealed, however, that substantial degradation of synthetic DYN occurred during extraction in acetic acid (0·1 mol/l) in spite of the precautions taken.
Phaeochromocytomas frequently contain ir-DYN in concentrations which may approach that of the mammalian pituitary. These tumours did not, however, contain ir-αNE and, with the possible exception of a small amount of DYN(1–32), the ir-DYN present did not correspond with any known sequences. Thus, whilst prodynorphin is expressed in phaeochromocytomas, it does not seem to be processed to the usual end-products, and post-translational modifications therefore seem likely. Enzymatic degradation of DYN may occur during extraction in acetic acid (0·1 mol/l), and this medium should, therefore, be avoided in studies of such labile peptides.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 123–132
The stability in vitro of bioactive and immunoreactive LH in human blood and plasma
Authors: Tsatsoulis A. , Mavroudis K. , Frost J. , Lambert A. , Shalet S. M. , Robertson W. R. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The degree of stability in vitro of bioactive and immunoreactive LH in human blood, plasma and serum was examined. Bioactivity and immunoreactivity of LH were assayed by the dispersed mouse Leydig cell assay and by standard radioimmunoassay respectively, using the same reference preparation (first international reference preparation for human pituitary LH 68/40 for immunoassay).
Bioactive and immunoreactive LH were stable in blood and plasma at 22 °C for up to 4 and 24 h respectively, and in blood at 4 °C for up to 24 h. There was no loss of biological or immunological LH activity in plasma which had been either snap-frozen and stored at −70 °C, allowed to freeze at −20 °C and stored at that temperature or kept at 4 °C for 24 h and then stored at − 70 °C. Likewise, the levels of LH in plasma and serum which had been stored at either − 20 or − 70 °C and then thawed and refrozen up to four times remained unchanged. In addition, the biological and immunological activity of LH was not affected after vortexing samples of plasma or serum for up to 60 s. Bioactive LH was also stable in plasma samples after prolonged storage (up to 9 months) at either −70 or −20 °C.
We conclude that LH bioactivity and immunoreactivity are stable in blood and plasma following a variety of treatments commonly experienced during normal handling of a blood sample after venepuncture.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 139–145
Secretion rates and short-term patterns of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone, FSH and LH in the normal stallion in the breeding season
Authors: Irvine C. H. G. , Alexander S. L. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Pituitary venous blood was collected by a painless non-surgical cannulation method from five ambulatory stallions at 5-min intervals for 5–6 h during the breeding season. In four adult stallions, statistical analysis showed that pulses of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and LH were coincident (P <0·01), as were pulses of FSH and LH (P <0·05). Furthermore, the patterns of changes in concentration of FSH and LH were highly correlated in each of the four stallions. However, seemingly ineffective pulses of GnRH were also observed, with 28% of GnRH pulses failing to induce a significant gonadotrophin pulse.
In the four adult stallions the amplitude of pituitary venous gonadotrophin pulses varied markedly but no correlation with GnRH pulse amplitude was observed. Peak secretion of FSH, but not LH, during pulses was correlated with the length of the interpulse interval. Consequently, the ratio of FSH to LH during peaks was least (P <0·02) when the interpulse interval was 30 min or less. Thus, differential FSH and LH secretion was achieved within a constant steroid milieu.
Two stallions had regular contact with oestrous mares, and in these horses the secretion of GnRH and gonadotrophins occurred almost continuously with rapid, rhythmic pulses superimposed upon a tonic background. Mean (± s.d.) interval between GnRH pulses was 31·4 ± 9·8 min and 27·7 ± 10·1 min. This secretory pattern was not observed in the two stallions which had infrequent contact with oestrous mares, although the small numbers precluded statistical testing of this apparent difference. No GnRH pulses were observed in one of these stallions, while in the other mean (± s.d.) GnRH pulse interval was 45·0 ± 48·7 min, the large variance being partly due to rapid pulses during a period in which the stallion teased mares. The fifth stallion was pubertal, and GnRH and LH secretion occurred in 15 and 0% of samples respectively, while low levels of FSH secretion were observed in 37% of samples and jugular testosterone levels were immeasurably low.
We conclude that there is a statistically significant synchrony between pulses of GnRH, LH and FSH in the pituitary venous blood of stallions. Furthermore, decreasing intervals between gonadotrophin pulses result in a significant reduction in secretion of FSH but not LH.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 197–206
The role of thyroid hormones in the growth hormone response to protein restriction in the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus)
Authors: Lauterio T. J. , Scanes C. G. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The possible role of thyroid hormones in the rise in plasma GH observed in protein-restricted chicks was examined. Increased sensitivity of protein-restricted chicks to secretagogue challenge (TRH or GH-releasing factor) appears to account, at least in part, for increased GH concentrations in protein-restricted chicks. Thyroid hormones administered acutely were able to suppress plasma GH concentrations in protein-restricted chicks. Further, chronic thyroid hormone supplementation to low protein diets normalized circulating thyroid hormone concentrations and also normalized the response to GH secretagogue challenge. This decreased sensitivity to TRH provocation occurred without an accompanying change in plasma concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I, a reputed inhibitor of GH secretion in the chicken.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 223–228
Effects of treatment with the opioid antagonists naloxone and naltrexone on LH secretion and on sexual maturation in immature female rats
Authors: Meijs-Roelofs H. M. A. , Kramer P. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The effects on sexual maturation of the opioid receptor antagonists naloxone and naltrexone were studied in the female rat. Neonatal treatment (days 1–10) with either naloxone (2·5 mg/kg at 6-h intervals) or naltrexone (20 or 50 mg/kg per day) did not advance sexual maturation as judged by age and body weight at vaginal opening and first ovulation. After treatment with naltrexone (20 mg/kg) first ovulation occurred 2·3 days earlier than in saline-treated control rats but this could be attributed to a growth-stimulating effect of naltrexone; the effect was not observed with 50 mg/kg. An effect of neonatal treatment with naloxone on serum LH levels was seen at 23 days of age (155±36 (s.e.m.) vs 14±4 μg LH/1 in controls, P<0·01), but not at 29 or 33 days of age, at 2 days before first ovulation nor at first pro-oestrus. There were no differences in the number of ova released at first oestrus, nor in the length of the first cycle. Neonatal treatment with naltrexone (50 mg/kg per day) did not alter the response to treatment with human chorionic gonadotrophin at 28–31 days of age: ovulation of a mean of 7·3 ova was induced on day 32 in both naltrexone- and saline-treated rats. Naltrexone treatment (four daily injections of 20 mg/kg at 2-h intervals) at 28–32 days of age advanced first ovulation by 4·4 days in about 40% of the rats.
Short-term effects of naloxone and naltrexone treatment on LH secretion were studied in 15-day-old rats and a clear increase in serum LH concentration was seen 15 min after injection; LH levels were similar with the various doses of antagonist used (2·5 and 20 mg naloxone/kg; 2·5, 20 and 50 mg naltrexone/kg). At 30 min after injection LH levels were still maximal if the 2·5 mg/kg dose of either antagonist was used, whereas with the higher doses a significant (P<0·01) decrease in the level of LH was observed, indicating a longer-lasting effect of the lower (2·5 mg/kg) dose of antagonist on LH secretion. No differences in effectiveness were seen between the supposedly short-lasting opioid receptor antagonist naloxone and the supposedly long-lasting antagonist naltrexone.
It was concluded that neonatal treatment with the opioid antagonists naloxone and naltrexone did not specifically influence sexual maturation. The antagonists clearly increased LH secretion in short-term experiments. Treatment with naltrexone at 28–32 days of age advanced first ovulation in 40% of the rats, a result that is in agreement with a possible opiatergic influence on the gradually increasing LH release during the final phase of sexual maturation.
The effects of the opioid antagonist naltrexone on the LH release mechanism did not parallel its reported long-lasting effects on nociceptive response, no long-lasting increase of LH release was seen, and the timecourse of the LH response was the same using the antagonists naloxone and naltrexone.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 237–243
Involvement of the somatostatin and cholinergic systems in the mechanism of growth hormone autofeedback regulation in the rat
Authors: Torsello A. , Panzeri G. , Cermenati P. , Caroleo M. C. , Ghigo E. , Camanni F. , Müller E. E. , Locatelli V. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The involvement of the cholinergic system in GH secretion has recently acquired increasing importance. Data have been presented suggesting that in rats the effect of cholinergic modulation on GH secretion takes place through inhibition or stimulation of hypothalamic somatostatin (SRIF) release. To investigate further the significance of cholinergic-SRIF link and its role in the regulation of GH secretion, the action of cholinergic agonist and antagonist drugs in the GH short-loop feedback mechanism mediated by SRIF was investigated. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of 0·2 or 2·0 μg GH/rat into the lateral brain ventricle of adult male rats induced a significant reduction in the GH-releasing hormone (GHRH; 2 μg/kg, i.v.)-induced peak GH rise, but only the 2·0 μg dose reduced also the GH-integrated area after administration of GHRH. This effect was absent after central administration of 20·0μg GH/rat, due probably to leakage of some GH from the cerebral ventricle into the systemic circulation. Pretreatment with cysteamine (300 mg/kg, s.c.), a known depletor of hypothalamic SRIF, or with anti-SRIF serum (0·5 ml/rat) completely counteracted the lessening of the GH response to GHRH induced by 2·0μg GH injected i.c.v. Similarly, pretreatment with the cholinergic agonist pilocarpine (3 mg/kg, i.v.) completely antagonized the inhibitory effect of central infusion of GH on the GHRH-induced GH response. Atropine (1·0 mg/kg, i.v.), a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, strikingly inhibited the GHRH-induced GH rise, but when given in combination with i.c.v. infusion of GH there was no additive inhibitory effect. These data reinforce the idea that the GH autofeedback triggered by i.c.v. infusion of GH is mediated by enhanced SRIF release, and suggest that the hypothalamic cholinergic system plays a major role in this mechanism.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 273–281
Subcellular fractionation of the porcine corpus luteum: sequestration of progesterone in a unique particulate fraction
Authors: Bramley T. A. , Menzies G. S. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Homogenates of porcine corpus luteum were subjected to fractionation by differential-rate centrifugation or sucrose density gradient fractionation, with or without pretreatment with digitonin. Fractions of each gradient were assayed for a number of markers characteristic of the major intracellular organelles and cell-surface membranes, and for progesterone content.
The majority of the progesterone content of homogenates of porcine corpus luteum was associated with a low-density particulate fraction which equilibrated at a buoyant density of 1·07–1·09 g/cm3. Pretreatment with digitonin increased the buoyant density of the progesterone-enriched fraction markedly (to 1·13–1·15 g/cm3) without causing release of steroid. The density distributions of progesterone content in control and digitonin-treated luteal gradient fractions were quite distinct from those of the major intracellular organelles and luteal cell-surface membranes. However, NADH–cytochrome C reductase activity (but not other endoplasmic reticulum markers) was also enriched in this fraction. The results suggest that most of the progesterone of the porcine corpus luteum is associated with a unique particulate fraction which is enriched in digitonin-reactive lipids and NADH–cytochrome C reductase activity.
J. Endocr. (1988) 117, 341–354