The responses of gonadotrophin gene expression, pituitary content and serum levels to castration alone and castration plus testosterone replacement (silicone elastomer implants) were compared in male rats at 10, 30, 60 and 90 days of age. Sham-operated animals served as controls. In addition, 30-day-old castrated rats were treated with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and diethylstilboestrol (DES). When killed 7 days after castration, the increases in serum LH (six- to eightfold; P < 0·01) and FSH (two- to fourfold; P < 0·01) were similar at all ages studied. Likewise, testosterone reversed the effects of castration in a largely similar fashion at all ages. In contrast, great age-related differences were observed in the responses of gonadotrophin subunit mRNAs to the treatments. Castration increased the common α subunit mRNA two- to fourfold on days 10 and 30 (P < 0·01), sixfold on day 60 (P < 0·01), but not at all on day 90. Testosterone reversed the increases at all ages, but the levels were below those of controls only at 90 days (P < 0·01). The highest increases (sixfold; P < 0·01) of LH-β mRNA were seen on days 10 and 60, the others being two- to threefold higher (P < 0·05–0·01). Testosterone reversed this effect at 60 days and suppressed LH-β mRNA to below the control levels at other ages (P < 0·01). Castration had no effect on FSH-β subunit mRNA at 30 and 90 days but a four-to fivefold increase was seen on days 10 and 60 (P < 0·01). Testosterone suppressed these mRNAs at all ages, and they decreased to below the levels in controls at 30 and 60 days. Testosterone, DHT and DES had, at 30 days, practically the same effects on the LH parameters, whereas DHT was clearly less effective than testosterone and DES in suppressing those of FSH. In conclusion, although there was, in general, good agreement between gonadotrophin mRNA and serum levels in response to castration and testosterone replacement, there were specific ages when the post-castration increases in FSH and/or LH occurred with no detectable change in the respective mRNA levels. These findings indicate that altered transcription (or mRNA stability) is not solely responsible for the responses of the gonadotrophins to altered gonadal feedback, but that changes in translation efficiency and/or serum gonadotrophin stability are involved at specific ages of development.
Journal of Endocrinology (1992) 135, 507–515
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