FEMALE-LIKE RISE IN LUTEINIZING-HORMONE AND FOLLICLE-STIMULATING-HORMONE AFTER GONADECTOMY IN MALE RATS INDUCED BY ESTRADIOL PRETREATMENT

A marked sexual difference in the rise of serum gonadotrophin concentrations after gonadectomy has been described in the rat. Gonadectomy in males induced a rapid rise in the concentrations of both LH and FSH within 8 to 12 h, whereas ovariectomy invoked a rapid increase in the concentration of FSH while the response by LH was delayed for several days. To determine whether these differences could be explained, at least in part, by the different steroid milieu at the time of gonadectomy, a series of experiments were performed to analyse the rise in both LH and FSH serum concentrations in control male and female rats and in male rats that had been pretreated with oestradiol-17β. Adult male rats received an s.c. implant of a silicone elastomer capsule filled with crystalline oestradiol-17β. Controls received empty capsules. Twenty-four hours later, the oestradiol-implanted rats were castrated and control animals were sham-operated. Both LH and FSH levels remained within control levels after castration in the oestradiol-implanted rats, indicating that the oestradiol implant was preventing any rise of either gonadotrophin. On day 5 after implantation, the capsules were removed, sham-implanted animals were castrated and LH and FSH levels at 12, 24, 48 and 72 h were measured and compared with those of ovariectomized rats at similar intervals. The control male rats displayed the pattern of gonadotrophin increments normally found after castration, with both LH and FSH concentrations rising significantly by 12 h after castration and with further increments at later periods. Oestradiol-treated rats showed a female-like gonadotrophin pattern. FSH levels started to rise significantly at 24 h compared with values from intact rats increased further at 48 and 72 h. During the first 48 h, FSH levels in both oestradiol-treated, castrated rats and female gonadectomized rats were significantly lower than in castrated animals. LH levels, on the other hand, remained low in both groups during the first 48 h, starting to rise significantly above control levels by 72 h. These results indicate that the different pattern of response to gonadectomy in rats of both sexes may be altered by changes in steroid environment and therefore, may not be genetically predetermined