Follicle-stimulating hormone is required for the initial phase of spermatogenic restoration in adult rats following gonadotropin suppression

The role of follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) in adult rat spermatogenesis is unclear. Although exogenous testosterone (T) restores spermatogenesis following gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) immunization or T plus estradiol (TE) treatments, an assessment of the independent action of T and FSH...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of andrology 1998-11, Vol.19 (6), p.725-735
Main Authors: Meachem, S. J, Wreford, N. G, Stanton, P. G, Robertson, D. M, McLachlan, R. I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Follicle Stimulating Hormone - immunology
Follicle Stimulating Hormone - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
germ cell
Gonadotropins - antagonists & inhibitors
Hormone metabolism and regulation
Immunization, Passive
Male
Mammalian male genital system
optical disector
Organ Size
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Spermatogenesis - physiology
spermatogonia
Spermatozoa - cytology
stereology
Testis - metabolism
Testis - physiology
Testosterone
Testosterone - blood
Testosterone - metabolism
Vertebrates: reproduction
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The role of follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) in adult rat spermatogenesis is unclear. Although exogenous testosterone (T) restores spermatogenesis following gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) immunization or T plus estradiol (TE) treatments, an assessment of the independent action of T and FSH was not possible, as exogenous T treatment maintains serum FSH levels. We have used passive immunization against FSH to determine whether T alone is capable of reinitiating spermatogenesis after chronic and acute FSH withdrawal. Adult rats received T‐filled Silastic implants 6 cm (T6) or 8 cm (T24) in length for 7 days in combination with either a polyclonal sheep antisera raised against rat FSH (FSHAb, 2 mg/kg SC daily) or control sheep immunoglobulin (ConAb) after either GnRH immunization (12 weeks) or TE treatment (9 weeks). The neutralizing capacity of the FSHAb was determined using a FSH in vitro bioassay; this analysis demonstrated that administration of FSHAb in vivo reduced FSH levels by >90%. Testes were fixed and germ cell number per testis quantified using the optical dissector. GnRH immunization reduced spermatogonia, pachytene spermatocytes, and round spermatids to 50,13, and
ISSN:0196-3635
1939-4640
DOI:10.1002/j.1939-4640.1998.tb02082.x