THE SPERMATOGENIC AND SECRETORY FUNCTION OF THE GONADS OF HYPOPHYSECTOMIZED ADULT RATS TREATED WITH PITUITARY FSH AND LH

Abstract

In a previous report (1) we demonstrated a marked structural and functional difference in the response of immature male rat gonads to injections of two hypophyseal gonadotropic fractions. The FSH fraction which is distinguished by its ability to develop Graafian follicles in the mammalian ovary showed a similar specificity of action in immature males by stimulating the seminiferous epithelium without causing hypertrophy of the Leydig cells. The luteinizing preparation (LH), however, produced only hypertrophy of the interstitial tissue and, as a consequence, the secondary sexual structures were greatly enlarged. These studies clearly indicated that the same secretions of the hypophysis which in the female promoted the maturation of follicles and their subsequent conversion into corpora lutea have equally diverse actions on the male gonad. The presence of the LH so often noted in the pituitary gland of the males of several sepecies and of the FSH as well was given a physiological interpretation.

The present report extends these observations to the hypophysectomized sexually mature male rat. The experiments are of two categories; those in which treatment was started immediately after hypophysectomy and those in which treatment was postponed for sufficient time to allow considerable regression of the entire reproductive system. The males were young animals weighing 220 gm. at the time of operation.