Plasma TSH rhythms were measured in Brattleboro (DI) and control Long–Evans (LE) rats with an intracardiac catheter allowing repeated sampling in conscious unstressed animals. The TSH response to thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH; 500 ng/100 g body weight) was also determined. Finally, hypothalamic and pancreatic TRH concentrations and TRH-degrading activity (TRH-DA) were measured by specific radioimmunoassay. Long–Evans rats had a 24-h rhythm with a major modulatory 8-h component. In DI rats, only the 24-h rhythm was detected. The mean 24-h rhythm-adjusted mean TSH level was higher in DI than in LE rats (1·38±0·05 and 1·14 ± 0·06 μg/l respectively, P<0·01). The peak TSH response to TRH was significantly increased in DI rats while the pituitary concentration of TSH was also higher (0·93 ± 0·09 vs 0·39± 0·06 μg/mg wet weight in LE, P<0·001). Hypothalamic TRH and TRH-DA were similar in both strains. The response to propyl-thiouracil-induced hypothyroidism was identical in both strains. We conclude that DI rats have a normal pituitary sensitivity to tri-iodothyronine but a central dysfunction in the pituitary environment leading to some alterations of TSH secretion.
J. Endocr. (1985) 105, 277–283
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