A Gonadotropin Inhibiting Principle in the Pineal of Human Fetuses. Evidence for its Identity with Arginine Vasotocin

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Abstract
Pineal extracts from human fetuses aged 4–6 months and containing a vasotocin-like peptide with antidiuretic and frog bladdder activities, significantly inhibit compensatory ovarian hyper-inhibition trophy (COH) in the mouse. Synthetic arginine vasotocin (AVT) in concentrations similar to those contained in the fetal pineals produced the same COH inhibition. Trypsin, tyrosinase, and sodium thioglycollate completely abolished the COH inhibiting activity of fetal pineal extracts, as well as its antidiuretic and frog bladder activities. Also, trypsin, tyrosinase, and sodium thioglycollate completely destroyed the COH inhibiting activity of synthetic AVT. This strongly suggests that the active principle from the pineal of human fetuses able to inhibit COH in the mouse is identical with AVT. Compared on a weight basis with melatonin, AVT is about one million times more active in inhibiting COH.

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