de Zegher F, Devlieger H, Veldhuis J D
Department of Pediatrics, University of Leuven Medical School, Belgium.
Pediatr Res. 1992 Nov;32(5):605-7. doi: 10.1203/00006450-199211000-00025.
Experimental evidence indicates that the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is operational and sexually dimorphic in the mammalian fetus and newborn. We examined the dynamics of human luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in five male and three female infants on the day of birth, after 34-41 wk of gestation. The infants were polycythemic, and blood samples were obtained every 20 min for 160 to 360 min during a therapeutic, standardized, isovolumetric, partial exchange transfusion. Serum LH was measured by an immunoradiometric assay that does not cross-react with human chorionic gonadotropin. The serum profiles of LH presented a striking sex dimorphism with elevated LH levels in male compared with female newborns. Deconvolution analysis of all male LH profiles was consistent with a high-frequency, pulsatile secretory pattern. Testosterone, measured in a pooled serum sample of each infant, was 10-fold higher in male than in female newborns. These results document pulsatile and sexually dimorphic secretion of LH in the human infant as early as the first day of postnatal life. It is possible that the augmented LH secretion in the male newborn participates in the neonatal rise of the serum testosterone concentration.
实验证据表明，下丘脑 - 垂体 - 性腺轴在哺乳动物胎儿和新生儿中是起作用的且具有性别二态性。我们研究了5名男婴和3名女婴在出生当天（妊娠34 - 41周后）促黄体生成素（LH）分泌的动态变化。这些婴儿患有红细胞增多症，在进行治疗性、标准化、等容、部分换血输血期间，每20分钟采集一次血样，共采集160至360分钟。血清LH通过不与人绒毛膜促性腺激素发生交叉反应的免疫放射分析测定。LH的血清谱呈现出明显的性别二态性，男婴的LH水平高于女婴。对所有男婴LH谱的反卷积分析与高频脉冲分泌模式一致。在每个婴儿的混合血清样本中测得的睾酮，男婴比女婴高10倍。这些结果证明，早在出生后第一天，人类婴儿的LH就有脉冲式分泌且具有性别二态性。男婴中LH分泌增加可能参与了血清睾酮浓度的新生儿期升高。
