EFFECT OF ESTRADIOL AND PROGESTERONE ADMINISTRATION UPON THE CIRCADIAN-RHYTHM OF OXYTOCIN IN THE CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID OF RHESUS-MONKEYS

The effect of administration of estradiol (E2) alone or combined with progesterone upon the circadian rhythm of oxytocin concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was examined in adult ovariectomized rhesus monkeys bearing temporary subarachnoid catheters and maintained in a constant photoperiod (lights on 06.00–18.00 h). Animals were subcutaneously implanted with silastic capsules containing 17β-E2 for 6 days and progesterone for the last 3 days of E2 administration. Hourly samples of CSF were collected before, during and after gonadal steroid administration and measured for oxytocin by RIA and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). A significant increase in the serum concentration of E2 and the plasma concentration of oxytocin neurophysin, but not the plasma concentration of oxytocin, was found during gonadal steroid administration. Each animal displayed a dirunal pattern of secretion of oxytocin in CSF with peak and trough levels during light and dark hours, respectively. No significant differences were found across experimental conditions in the following CSF oxytocin parameters: mean level of oxytocin in CSF during the light, dark, or light and dark hours combined; the daily phase or amplitude of the CSF oxytocin rhythm; the peak or nadir concentration of oxytocin in CSF; or the total amount of oxytocin secreted into the CSF as expressed as the area under the curve (multivariate repeated measures ANOVA). The CSF oxytocin parameters in the animals that were restudied using empty silastic implants were not significantly different across time (multivariate repeated measures ANOVA). Oxytocin immunoreactivity in extracts of CSF collected from 1 monkey before and during gonadal steroid administration eluted from an RP-HPLC column as a single peak in the position of synthetic oxytocin. We conclude that the circadian pattern of oxytocin concentrations in the CSF of monkeys is not significantly altered by administration of estradiol or progesterone. © 1990 S. Karger AG, Basel.