NUCLEIC ACID AND PROTEIN CONTENT IN THE PARS DISTALIS OF THE PITUITARY AND HYPOTHALAMUS OF THE FROG, RANA ESCULENTA: EFFECTS OF GONADECTOMY AND CAPTIVITY

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Abstract
SUMMARY: The protein, RNA and DNA content was measured in the pars distalis, hypothalamus and cerebral cortex of gonadectomized frogs (Rana esculenta) and compared with the levels in captive and in wild controls. Short-term (35 days) gonadectomy increased the weight of the pars distalis and also its RNA and protein content, whilst gonadectomy for a longer period (135 days, females only) depressed these parameters below control levels. In the hypothalamus, short-term gonadectomy increased the protein concentration, and long-term gonadectomy the RNA content. Captivity alone for 135 days caused a diminution in the weight and protein content of the pars distalis, although the various parameters showed an increase which correlated with the annual reproductive cycle. The DNA content (μg/mg tissue) of the pars distalis was similar in all groups suggesting that any weight changes were not due to changes in cell numbers. Neither gonadectomy nor captivity altered the nucleic acid and protein content of the cerebral cortex. The pars distalis weighed more in female frogs and contained more RNA and protein per mg.

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