Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
The tuberoinfundibular (A12) dopaminergic pathway, which originates in the arcuate and periventricular nuclei, is thought to play an inhibitory role in the regulation of episodic luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. Neonatal treatment of rats with the neurotoxin monosodium-L-glutamate (MSG) causes extensive damage to the arcuate nuclei and up to 60% depletion of dopamine (DA) in the mediobasal hypothalamus. We hypothesized that such DA depletion should result in a hyperresponsiveness to subsequent administration of a DA agonist. To test this hypothesis, male rats were treated neonatally with MSG. Control rats received injections of equiosmotic saline. As adults the rats were orchidectomized and fitted with indwelling venous catheters. Blood samples were taken from these unanesthetized, unrestrained rats at 5-min intervals for a 1-hour period, at which time the animals received an intraperitoneal injection of one of the following drugs: apomorphine (0.8 mg/kg, a DA receptor agonist), bromocriptine (8.0 mg/kg, a DA receptor agonist), 0.9% saline (vehicle for apomorphine) or 95% ethanol (vehicle for bromocriptine). Blood sampling was continued for a further 2–2.5 h. Plasma LH was measured by RIA. Both apomorphine and bromocriptine produced striking inhibition of circulating LH levels in MSG-treated rats. Neither of the control treatments altered pulsatile LH secretion patterns. Administration of exogenous gonadotropin-releasing hormone produced LH peaks in all animals so treated, including those whose endogenous LH secretion had been inhibited by the DA agonists. These findings suggest that the depletion of DA induced by neonatal MSG treatment results in a supersensitivity to DA agonists. Furthermore, they support the theory that tuberoinfundibular DA is an inhibitory regulator of episodic LH secretion in the castrate rat, and that this inhibitory effect occurs at a suprapituitary site.
Neuroendocrinology – Karger
Published: Jan 1, 1986
Keywords: Luteinizing hormone; Monosodium glutamate; Bromocriptine; Dopamine; Apomorphine; Hypothalamus; Pituitary; Gonadotropin-releasing hormone
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.