Abstract
The anterior pituitary substance responsible for thyroid hypertrophy and hyperplasia has been attributed to various anterior lobe hormones or to a separate thyreotropic hormone. 1 By heating a pituitary extract (Phyone), the thyreotropic substance has been separated from the contained gonad and growth stimulating substances.†
To determine the effect of heat on the activity of the growth hormone, young mice, 18 to 23 days of age, were used. 172 animals were divided into 5 groups: Group I injected subcutaneously with phyone; group II injected with phyone heated 60°C. 15 minutes; group III injected with phyone heated 80°C. 15 minutes; group IV injected with phyone heated to boiling 15 minutes. Group V was used as controls. All animals were injected with 0.1 cc. extract daily for 5 days. The average increase in body weight in 6 days was as follows: group I, 56%; group II, 55%; group III, 37%; group IV, 34%; controls, 35%. These data indicate that the growth hormone contained is not thermostable and is inactivated at some temperature between 60° and 80° C.
To determine the effect of heat upon the activity of the gonad stimulating hormone, female rabbits, 11 to 12 weeks of age, were used. These were divided into 3 groups of 7 each: group I, injected with 0.5 cc. of phyone, twice daily for 5 days; group II, with 1 cc. of phyone heated to boiling 15 minutes, twice daily for 5 days; group III, served as controls.
In group I all animals had hypertrophied uteri, and 6 showed from 2 to 4 corpora hemorrhagica in each ovary. No corpora hemorrhagica were present in group II, and in 6 animals the uteri were small and characteristically infantile, while the uterus of one animal, though small, showed a condition of hyperaemia. It is evident from these experiments that the gonad-stimulating hormone is inactivated by subjecting the extract to boiling temperatures for 15 minutes.
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