Regulation of testicular LH/hCG receptors in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) during development

Role of prolactin and the gonads in seasonal physiological changes in the collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus)

On a seasonal basis, collared lemmings undergo a number of physiological and morphological changes. Short photoperiod exposure results in a molt to a white pelage, an increase in body weight, a reduction in relative body fat content, an increase in relative water content, and the development of a bifid claw. Treatment with the dopamine agonist, CB-154, resulted in a reduction in serum prolactin and the development of the white pelage in lemmings housed under 16L:8D, while treatment with the dopamine antagonist, sulpiride, prevented the winter molt in animals transferred to 8L:16D. Castration under 16L:8D resulted in an increase in body weight and an enlargement of the bifid claw. Castrated animals also molted more readily when treated with CB-154 and developed a relatively greater carcass water content. Treatment with CB-154 increased relative carcass fat content. These findings suggest that, in the collared lemming, seasonal changes in pelage parameters are regulated by prolactin, with gonadal hormones playing a modulating role. Body weight, water content, and bifid claw size appear to be influenced by gonadal hormones.

Changes in the testicular binding of luteinizing hormone and plasma testosterone concentrations in the Djungarian hamster subjected to different photoperiods and temperatures and effects of long-term testosterone treatment on the binding

The effects of artificial photoperiod, temperature, and long-term testosterone treatment on testicular luteinizing hormone (LH) binding were studied in adult male Djungarian hamsters. In hamsters transferred to long-day (LD; 16 hr light, 8 hr dark) photoperiod 8 weeks after adaptation in short-day (SD; 8 hr light, 16 hr dark) photoperiod of 25 degrees C, testicular growth was associated with an increase in the total LH binding per two testes and a decrease in LH binding per unit testicular weight. Plasma testosterone levels reached a peak 47 days after transfer to LD and tended to decrease thereafter, while the testes continued growing. In contrast, when hamsters reared under LD conditions at 25 degrees C for 12 weeks were transferred to SD, testicular regression was associated with a decrease in plasma testosterone and the total LH binding per two testes and an increase in LH binding per unit testicular weight. A significant decrease in LH binding per unit weight compared to SD controls was observed in those hamsters exposed to SD with continuous testosterone treatment. The testosterone treatment tended to induce decrease in the total LH binding. Scatchard plot analyses of the binding suggested that changes in LH binding were due to changes in the number of binding sites. When sexually mature male hamsters were subjected for 8 weeks to two different ambient temperatures (7 degrees C and 25 degrees C) and photoperiods (LD and SD), the difference between the two temperature groups was statistically not significant regarding the weights of testes, epididymides, and prostates; plasma testosterone levels; and LH binding in either LD or SD group. These results suggest that photoperiod is a more important environmental factor than temperature for the regulation of testicular activity and LH receptors and that testosterone reduces the number of LH receptors per unit testicular weight in adult male Djungarian hamsters.

A genuine organ specific alcohol dehydrogenase from hamster testes: isolation, characterization and developmental changes

Testes of golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) contain a unique form of alcohol dehydrogenase. The enzyme purified to homogeneity is a dimer composed of two identical 41000 dalton subunits and was inhibited by 4-methylpyrazole and 1, 10-phenanthroline. The enzyme prefers primary over secondary alcohol substrates and oxidizes vitamin A (retinol) most efficiently. Its activity in the testis increases during the prepubertal development and such increase is concomitant with, but preceding slightly, the increase in testicular weight and plasma testosterone. These results may implicate the involvement of this enzyme in the development of male hamsters' reproductive system.

Role of prolactin in the regulation of sensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary system to steroid feedback

During sexual maturation, pituitary gonadotropins stimulate the gonads to produce increasing amounts of biologically active steroids and yet gonadotropin release does not become suppressed until concentrations of sex hormones, LH and FSH, in peripheral circulation stabilizes at a higher adult level. There is a substantial amount of evidence that in many mammals, this transition from prepubertal to adult level of activity of the pituitary-gonadal axis is associated with a reduction in the sensitivity of the hypothalamic-adenohypophyseal system to negative feedback of gonadal steroids. In the female, these changes are accompanied by the appearance of positive estrogen feedback on gonadotropin release. In seasonal breeders, annual transitions between the periods of gonadal activity and quiescence are associated with corresponding shifts in the sensitivity to steroid feedback. Peripheral levels of pituitary prolactin (PRL) typically increase during sexual maturation and exhibit large seasonal fluctuations in response to changes in photoperiod and ambient temperature. We propose that PRL is one of the factors which regulate the sensitivity of gonadotropin release to gonadal steroid feedback. In hyperprolactinemic women, responsiveness to negative estrogen feedback increases, while LH response to positive estrogen feedback is reduced or absent. In hyperprolactinemic men, both LH and testosterone levels are reduced, implying increased sensitivity of LH release to negative testosterone feedback. In the male rat, both physiological amounts of PRL and experimentally-induced hyperprolactinemia increase the ability of exogenous testosterone to suppress LH and FSH release. Different regulatory mechanisms appear to operate in the seasonally breeding male golden hamster, in which short photoperiod causes concomitant suppression of PRL, LH, FSH and testosterone release. In this species, pharmacologic suppression of PRL release leads to increased responsiveness of plasma gonadotropin levels to negative feedback effects of testosterone, while PRL-secreting ectopic pituitary transplants exert an opposite effect. We have examined some of the suspected mechanisms of PRL modulation of testosterone feedback in male golden hamsters. In immature animals, the amount of cytoplasmic androgen receptors in the anterior pituitary was decreased by mild hyperprolactinemia and increased by treatment with bromocriptine, an inhibitor of PRL release. Bromocriptine increased pituitary androgen binding also in adult hamsters. These findings would imply that PRL modulates the responsiveness to negative steroid feedback at the pituitary level.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)