Gonadal atrophy induced by short photoperiods in male golden hamsters is accompanied by a decrease in the total content of testicular prolactin and LH/human chorionic gonadotrophin (LH/hCG) receptors and a concomitant rise in the concentration of LH receptors. Atrophic testes are typically abdominal. In this study, we have compared the effects of experimentally induced cryptorchidism and the effects of a short photoperiod on testicular prolactin and LH/hCG receptors. Cryptorchidism produced the expected decrease in testicular weight and an increase in plasma FSH concentrations, without altering plasma concentrations of LH or prolactin and with a relatively small decrease in plasma testosterone. It also produced an increase in the concentration of prolactin and LH/hCG receptors without significant changes in their total content. Exposure to a short photoperiod decreased weights of testes and seminal vesicles and plasma levels of prolactin and testosterone, with no significant effects on plasma gonadotrophin levels. Short photoperiod also increased the concentration of LH/hCG receptors but, in contrast to the effects of cryptorchidism, it produced a precipitous decline in the total content of testicular receptors for both prolactin and LH/hCG. We conclude that changes in prolactin and hCG binding measured in membrane preparations from decapsulated testes of hamsters exposed to a short photoperiod cannot be explained by the abdominal position of the gonads, abnormalities of Sertoli cell function or changes in the relative proportion of Leydig cells in the atrophic testes.
J. Endocr. (1984) 103, 227–231
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