Influence of Thyroid Hormones on Cholesterol Metabolism in Rats with Induced Ovarian Cysts

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Abstract
Administration of thiouracil to rats for 30 days increased the concentration of ovarian and serum cholesterol and decreased liver cholesterol. Administration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) to hypothyroid rats for 20 days resulted in large ovarian follicular cysts with total and free cholesterol concentration less than 50 % that of untreated controls. Similar reduction in serum cholesterol was noted, and liver cholesterol remained subnormal. Cystic ovary formation was inhibited by concomitant thyroid hormones in doses which were only partially goiter preventing, indicating that the gonadal system is more sensitive to thyroid hormone level than is the pituitary-thyroid axis. Protection against cyst formation with increasing doses of thyroid hormones was correlated with progressively higher cholesterol concentrations in ovaries, serum, adrenals and liver. It is suggested that, in the presence of thiouracil and excessive ovarian growth, thyroid hormone action upon the liver may be partially masked, with the net effect being an increase in liver and serum cholesterol rather than a cholesterol depletion obtained with thyroid hormones in many previous studies. (Endocrinology76: 1041, 1965)

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