Abstract
Summary
Pituitary concentration and total content of LH, FSH and prolactin as well as serum levels of the hormones were measured in rats ovariectomized for 4–6 weeks and either untreated or primed with estrogen, progesterone, or both, 72 hr prior to decapitation. Estrogen stimulated synthesis and release of prolactin whereas progesterone did not alter these processes. Estrogen alone or in combination with progesterone caused increased pituitary stores of LH, perhaps by reducing endogenous LH-RH. Either steroid, administered alone or in combination with the other, increased the pituitary content of FSH, and FSH release was only partially inhibited by estrogen or estrogen and progesterone.
We thank Dr. Gordon D. Niswender for his H-15 antibody and Dr. Leo Reichert, Jr. for his LER-1056-C2 LH for iodination used in the LH assays; Dr. Albert F. Parlow and NIH for the RIA kits used to measure rat FSH and prolactin along with the NIAMD standard used in the LH assays; Mrs. Frances Smith and Virginia Hoover for technical and secretarial assistance.
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