Effects of Neonatal Androgenization on Serum Gonadotropin Levels of Prepubertal and Adult Male and Female Rats

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Abstract
Experiments were designed to study the effect of neonatal androgenization on the FSH and LH levels in prepubertal (16 and 30 days old) and adult (90 days old) male and female rats. Androgenization was performed by injecting the pups with 1 mg of testosterone propionate on the 2nd post-partum day. The results obtained in the female rats showed that androgenization increased FSH levels in rats of 30 days old and 90 days old (adult) without modifying the LH levels. Androgenized rats of 16 days old do not show the very high levels of LH and FSH that were observed in normal rats, which are probably connected with a positive feed-back mechanism of estrogens. The data obtained in males indicates that there were no differences in the serum LH concentrations between controls and androgenized groups of different ages and that the FSH values were significantly higher in the androgenized than in the normal rats during prepubertal and pubertal stages. The conclusion of this study is that the neonatal androgenization produces in the male and female rats a similar pattern of gonadotropins (Gns) modifications: increase in the FSH levels without modifications in the LH concentration. This results gives additional support to the concept that the establishment of sexual differences in the mechanisms of control of FSH is a relevant process during the sexual differentiation of hypothalamus.