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SUMMARY
Large and rapid variations were found in the plasma cortisol levels of housed and cannulated sheep. Adrenaline injected i.v. caused increased plasma levels of cortisol that were proportionate to the dose. This response of cortisol to adrenaline was larger when sheep were newly housed, than when the sheep had been housed and sampled for 2 weeks. Response to adrenocorticotrophin also diminished over 2 weeks. Dexamethasone abolished the response to adrenaline. Tyrosine and DOPA had little effect on cortisol levels, dopamine and noradrenaline had some effect, but none had as great an effect as adrenaline.
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The aim of the present study was to gain evidence that the level of LH secretion preceding the preovulatory LH surge is an important determinant of follicular maturation and corpus luteum function in the ewe. In addition it was hoped to establish whether the pattern of LH delivery to the ovary (pulsatile v. constant) is a critical factor in the maturation of a preovulatory follicle.
To accomplish this, progesterone-primed anoestrous ewes were repeatedly injected i.v. with LH or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH), or given an i.v. infusion of LH, over a 72 h period. These animals, together with the appropriate controls, were exposed to a sexually active ram so that oestrous activity could be recorded. All ewes were subjected to intensive blood sampling regimes so that the plasma levels of LH and progesterone could be determined and compared to those which occurred in the same breed of sheep during the oestrous cycle.
Collectively the data suggest that the plasma levels of LH preceding the preovulatory LH surge are an important determinant of follicular maturation as judged by subsequent corpus luteum function. Moreover, they show that follicular maturation can be achieved with widely differing patterns of LH delivery to the ovary during the preovulatory period and that a strict pulsatile delivery of LH may not be an absolute requirement.
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The temporal relationships between the levels of LH in peripheral plasma and in follicular fluid of ovarian follicles in anaesthetized sheep were investigated for a 10-h period after a single i.m. injection of LH releasing hormone (LH-RH; 100 μg). The ovarian secretion rates of oestradiol and androstenedione and the levels of these steroids accumulating in different sized follicles at varying time-intervals after the LH-RH injection were also compared.
The data show that the rates at which pituitary LH enters and leaves the intrafollicular fluid-filled spaces are substantially slower than those of peripheral blood. Two hours after LH-RH injection the levels of LH in plasma had increased from 1 to 200 ng/ml, whereas in the follicle the levels remained at approximately 2 ng/ml. Ten hours after the LH-RH injection, the levels of LH in plasma had returned to basal values (∼1·4 ng/ml) but in both small and large follicles the levels of LH (∼20 ng/ml) were comparable to those present in similar sized follicles 4 h earlier.
The data also indicate that more than 90% of the oestradiol produced by a large antral follicle (≥5 mm diameter) probably enters the bloodstream without first accumulating within the follicular antrum. Finally it is concluded that the clearance of the small amount of oestradiol which does accumulate in the follicular antrum is negligible compared with the clearance of this hormone from peripheral plasma.
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ABSTRACT
The aim of the present study was to establish whether cyclic ovarian activity could be induced and then maintained in anoestrous Romney ewes by the long-term administration of regular intravenous pulses of LH (10 μg ovine LH i.v. once every 1 or 2 h for 29–91 days). The LH pulse regimen was designed to generate plasma profiles of LH that were comparable to those experienced during the luteal and follicular phases of the oestrous cycle.
The results showed that the LH treatments were capable of inducing cyclic ovarian activity, as assessed from the concentrations of progesterone in plasma, but that the treatments were inadequate for sustaining cyclic activity beyond two consecutive progestational phases. After 35–56 days of treatment, the plasma concentrations of FSH declined significantly (P <0·05) relative to those in the untreated animals. These data suggest that FSH supplementation as well as LH might be required for the long-term maintenance of cyclic ovarian activity in seasonally anoestrous ewes.
J. Endocr. (1984) 100, 67–73
