Alterations in the onset of ovulatory failure and gonadotropin secretion following steroid administration to lightly androgenized female rats.

The present studies were designed to characterize the gonadotropin response to exogenous steroids in neonatally androgenized female rats in various states of reproductive decline. Female rats were androgenized by the administration of a single injection of testosterone propionate (TP) (10 or 100 micrograms) at 5 days of age. Control rats received sesame oil. Treatment with 100 micrograms TP resulted in persistent vaginal estrus (PVE) from the onset of vaginal introitus. Treatment with 10 micrograms TP resulted in a period of regular estrous cyclicity followed by PVE. In the first experiment, all animals were ovariectomized between the ages of 60-85 days and the gonadotropin response to exogenously administered estradiol benzoate (EB) (10 micrograms/100 g BW) and progesterone (P) (2 mg/animal) was determined. When testing began 3 days following ovariectomy, control females exhibited significant (P less than 0.01) afternoon elevations of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) following EB, which were further amplified following P. When ovariectomy occurred prior to the onset of PVE (PRE PVE), lightly androgenized females (10 micrograms TP) showed no significant afternoon gonadotropin increase following EB. Following P, phasic LH secretion was present but significantly (P less than 0.01) decreased in amplitude and delayed in onset versus that of control females. When ovariectomy occurred 3 to 4 wk following the onset of PVE, lightly androgenized females (PVE group) as well as fully androgenized females (FAS) (100 micrograms TP) showed no gonadotropin response to steroid priming.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)