Hormone ontogeny in the ovine fetus. XXIII. Pulsatile administration of follicle-stimulating hormone stimulates inhibin production and decreases testosterone synthesis in the ovine fetal gonad.

Inhibin, a gonadal glycoprotein with selective FSH-suppressing activity, is synthesized by the Sertoli cell of the testis and the granulosa cell of the ovary mediated by the action of FSH. It is not known whether inhibin is produced by the fetal testes and ovaries or if FSH has the capacity to stimulate inhibin production by the fetal gonad. To explore these questions, we examined the bioactive inhibin content of the gonads of 16 chronically catheterized sheep fetuses between 111 and 143 days gestational age (0.7-0.95 gestation) in an ovine pituitary bioassay. Both the fetal testes and ovary contained inhibin activity (testes, 53.5-1,240 U inhibin/g tissue; ovaries, 58.5-2,250 U/g). After pulsatile administration of oFSH (5 micrograms every 3 h) to the fetus for 5 days in 1 fetus and 10 days in 2 fetuses, 10-day gonadal inhibin content of fetal testes increased to 5,080 +/- 3,180 U/testes (n = 3) vs. 165 +/- 50 U/testes in controls (n = 8; P less than 0.02); the concentration of testicular inhibin in these features rose to a mean of 9,100 +/- 6,620 vs. 415 +/- 126 U/g tissue in controls (P less than 0.01). Ovarian inhibin content in female fetuses given ovine FSH for 10 days was 5,220 +/- 4,920 U/ovary (n = 4) compared to 40 +/- 16 U/ovary in controls (n = 4); the inhibin concentration was 41,000 +/- 30,000 U/g in ovaries of FSH-treated fetuses vs. 1,190 +/- 960 U/g in controls. The ovary of 1 female fetus contained several large follicles and the highest inhibin concentration. Unexpectedly, FSH administration was associated with a decrease in testosterone content in the fetal testes and ovaries. The testosterone content was 0.54 +/- 0.42 ng/ovary after FSH treatment (n = 4) vs. 2.11 +/- 0.68 ng/ovary in controls (n = 4; P less than 0.02). The testosterone concentration fell to 5.8 +/- 2.0 ng/g in treated female fetuses vs. 60.3 +/- 14.6 ng/g in controls (P less than 0.0005). The testosterone content in fetal testes decreased to 21.7 +/- 6.9 ng/testes in FSH-treated fetuses (n = 3) vs. 75.1 +/- 24.0 ng/testes in controls (n = 5; P less than 0.04); the testosterone concentration fell to 38.6 +/- 16.1 ng/g tissue compared to 223.0 +/- 88.7 ng/g in untreated controls (P less than 0.03). In male fetuses the concentration of plasma testosterone decreased to 15.5 +/- 2.3 ng/dl after FSH treatment, significantly lower than 39.6 +/- 4.5 ng/dl in controls (P less than 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)