Hormonal Activity of the Rat Placenta in the Absence of Dietary Protein1

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Placentas were removed from protein-deficient and control rats on day 10 or 11 of pregnancy and assayed in suitably prepared immature female hypophy-sectomized recipient rats for luteotropic and mammotropic activities. Luteotropic potency was determined by the deciduoma reaction, and mammotropic activity by lobulo-alveolar growth in the right mammary gland of recipient rats. Minimal effective doses (MED) of luteotropic and mammotropic activities were 1 placenta and 1/2 placenta, respectively, for day 11 placentas from both protein-deficient and control rats. MEDs of day 10 placentas from protein-deficient and control donors also were comparable, both for luteotropic activity (2 placentas) and for mammotropic content (1 placenta). It is suggested that the endocrine function of the rat placenta is not impaired by the absence of dietary protein.