Effect of Ovariectomy on Pituitary and Serum Gonadotrophins in the Mouse1

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Abstract
The effect of ovariectomy on the concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH, ICSH) in the anterior pituitary and in the serum of 2 strains of mice was determined by means of quantitative and specific bio-assay methods (HCG-augmentation assay of Steelman and Pohley for FSH and ovarian ascorbic acid depletion assay of Parlow for LH). The concentration of FSH in the anterior pituitary of normal adult female mice was 13 μg equivalents of NIH-FSH-S1 per mg dry weight. By the 3rd month after ovariectomy the concentration of FSH had increased approximately 5-fold and remained at this level for an additional 6 months. FSH activity was not detectable in the serum of normal adult female mice. At 3 months and 9 months after ovariectomy the concentration of FSH in serum was 9 and 12 μg of NIH-FSH-Sl/ml. The concentration of LH in the anterior pituitary of normal adult mice was 3 μg equivalents of NIH-LH-S1 per mg dry weight. This concentration was the same in the ovariectomized mice. No LH activity could be detected in the serum of either normal or ovariectomized mice. The apparent lack of effect of ovariectomy on pituitary and serum LH in mice differs from the effect of ovariectomy on LH in the rat. (Endocrinology74: 102, 1964)