A Detailed Examination of the in vivo and in vitro Effects of ACTH on Gonadotropin Secretion in the Adult Rat

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Abstract
These studies were designed to: (1) determine the effects of continuous infusion of synthetic ACTH (1–24) on postcastration changes in serum and pituitary LH, FSH and prolactin in the male rat; (2) assess the effects of adrenalectomy on the gonadotropin and prolactin response to ACTH, and (3) test the hypothesis that ACTH may directly (not via adrenal factors) alter gonadotropin secretion at the brain and/or pituitary level. Adult male rats were either orchidectomized (ORX) or orchidectomized-adrenalectomized (ORX-ADX), and were treated continuously for 6 days with ACTH (1–24) (10 µg/day) or saline using an osmotic minipump. Animals were killed on day 6 following castration. ACTH treatment reduced serum LH and prolactin levels in ORX rats to mean values ± SE of 204 ± 25 and 37 ± 3 ng/ml respectively, compared to 366 ± 72 and 62 ± 7 ng/ml in saline-treated ORX animals. Serum FSH concentrations were not altered by ACTH administration. Pituitary concentrations of LH and FSH, but not prolactin were enhanced by ACTH treatment. Adrenalectomy had no effect on serum and pituitary gonadotropin and prolactin levels, but abolished the effects of ACTH on these parameters. Central (intracerebroventricular) infusion of ACTH (1–24) (6 µg/day × 4 days) failed to alter the rise in serum LH in male rats following orchidectomy. Acute treatment with large doses of ACTH of perifused anterior pituitary glands from male rats and chronic treatment with ACTH of enzymatically dispersed anterior pituitary cells from female rats did not influence basal or GnRH-stimulated LH secretion. Our results suggest that in the male rat ACTH retards LH secretion via unknown adrenal factors. We were unable to find any evidence that ACTH per se is capable of directly modulating gonadotropin secretion at either the brain or pituitary level.