Effects and Mode of Action of Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone Upon the Reproductive Tract of the Female Mouse

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Abstract
The results of chronic administration of ACTH to both immature and mature female mice are reported. In immature mice, ACTH delayed the onset of the first estrus. With the highest dose used (1.5 U) there was a decrease in the mean ovarian weight compared with control animals. Differences in uterine weight reflected the onset of estrus in the controls. In immature, adrenalectomized mice, ACTH (1.5 U) did not significantly reduce the mean ovarian weight. In mature virgin mice, ACTH, 0.5–1.5 U daily, did not affect either vaginal estrus or the weight of the ovaries, uterus and vagina. A dose of 2 U daily for from 2 to 6 weeks, however, suppressed or reduced the frequency of vaginal estrus and reduced significantly the mean weight of the ovaries, vagina and uterus compared with control animals. Fresh corpora lutea were absent from the ovaries of the treated animals. Adrenalectomy abolished these effects of ACTH. In ovariectomized mice, ACTH did not diminish the trophic action of estradiol upon the uterus and vagina. In intact immature mice, ACTH slightly, but significantly, diminished the trophic action of the gonadotrophin, PMS, upon the ovaries. The literature concerning the effects of ACTH on the reproductive tract is discussed, and it is suggested that the mode of action of ACTH may differ in different species, in part due to species differences in the steroid hormones produced by the adrenals. (Endocrinology76: 434, 1965)