Spratt D I, O'Dea L S, Schoenfeld D, Butler J, Rao P N, Crowley W F
Reproductive Endocrine Unit, Vincent Memorial Research Laboratories, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
Am J Physiol. 1988 May;254(5 Pt 1):E658-66. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1988.254.5.E658.
Previous studies of episodic hormone secretion of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in normal men have produced conflicting results due to examinations of small cohorts of subjects or to limited sampling techniques. We evaluated gonadotropin and testosterone (T) secretory patterns in 20 normal men by sampling blood at 10-min intervals for luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). T concentrations were also analyzed at 20-min intervals in 10 subjects. A previously unappreciated spectrum of gonadotropin and T secretory patterns was observed in normal men. Both mean LH concentrations and mean LH pulse amplitudes varied fourfold between individuals. LH interpulse intervals varied from 30 to 480 min (mean 119 +/- 32). Results also suggested a relative refractory period at the level of the hypothalamus or pituitary. In three subjects, a striking nighttime accentuation of LH pulsations was noted. Through use of Fourier analysis, a diurnal variation in LH was observed in the population (P less than 0.02). Mean FSH levels showed marked variation between individual subjects, with discrete pulses rarely observed. No diurnal variation in FSH secretion was noted. Serum T concentrations determined at 6-h intervals ranged from 105 to 1,316 ng/dl between subjects. When T was measured at 20-min intervals, marked intermittent declines in the T concentrations to levels well below the normal range were observed in 3 of 10 subjects. T secretion was found to lag behind LH secretion by approximately 40 min (P less than 0.02).
以往对正常男性下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴间歇性激素分泌的研究，由于研究对象队列较小或采样技术有限，结果相互矛盾。我们通过每隔10分钟采集一次血液以检测促黄体生成素（LH）和促卵泡生成素（FSH），评估了20名正常男性的促性腺激素和睾酮（T）分泌模式。还对10名受试者每隔20分钟分析一次T浓度。在正常男性中观察到了促性腺激素和T分泌模式的一个以前未被认识到的范围。个体之间的平均LH浓度和平均LH脉冲幅度相差四倍。LH脉冲间期从30分钟到480分钟不等（平均119±32）。结果还提示在下丘脑或垂体水平存在相对不应期。在三名受试者中，注意到LH脉冲在夜间有明显增强。通过使用傅里叶分析，在总体人群中观察到LH存在昼夜变化（P<0.02）。个体受试者之间的平均FSH水平显示出明显差异，很少观察到离散脉冲。未发现FSH分泌有昼夜变化。受试者之间每隔6小时测定的血清T浓度在105至1316 ng/dl之间。当每隔20分钟测量一次T时，在10名受试者中有3名观察到T浓度明显间歇性下降至远低于正常范围的水平。发现T分泌比LH分泌滞后约40分钟（P<0.02）。
