Abstract
Summary
Immature male rats were given, intravenously twice a day, either sheep hypo-thalamic extract (HE), saline, vasopressin, or various combinations of vasopressin and oxytocin, or these materials plus testosterone propionate (TP) 100 μg or estradiol 0.1 μg plus progesterone 1 mg (EP) once a day, for 7 days. At autopsy, organ weights were obtained and pituitaries subjected to assay for LH potency.
HE alone did not cause a depletion in hypophyseal LH or any change in testicular or sex accessory weights. In combination with EP, and to a lesser degree with TP, however, HE caused a fall in pituitary LH potency and a concomitant and proportional rise in ventral prostate weight, via testicular androgen production. Vasopressin alone and vasopressin plus oxytocin with EP, were ineffective in causing release of LH.
The testicular weight reduction associated with EP treatment could be completely inhibited by the extract, but the reduction found with TP treatment could only partially be prevented by HE.
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