FSH- and LH-releasing activity in the hypothalamus of female hamsters during proestrus and estrus: effects of arcuate nucleus lesions.

An in vitro bioassay was used to characterize the pattern of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)- and luteinizing hormone (LH)-releasing activities in the anterior (AH) and medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) during proestrus (P) and estrus (E) in the hamster. Regularly cycling hamsters were decapitated at 12.00, 16.00, 20.00 and 23.00 h of P and 02.00, 05.00, 08.00, 11.00, 14.00 and 17.00 h of E and sera assayed for FSH and LH. Neutralized extracts of the AH and MBH were incubated with a hemipituitary (HP), which was obtained from estrogen- and progesterone-primed ovariectomized rats. The incubation media were assayed for FSH and LH and the results expressed as nanograms of gonadotropin released per milligram HP. There was a surge of serum FSH and LH at 16.00 h of P and a surge of serum FSH only on E. LH-releasing activity in the AH and MBH declined late on P. This activity in the MBH increased by 08.00 h of E. FSH-releasing activity declined markedly in the MBH early on E when serum levels of FSH, but not LH, were rising. Conversely, low serum levels of FSH and high FSH releasing activity were found in the AH and MBH of animals with a chemically induced lesion of the arcuate nucleus. These data suggest that an FSH-releasing hormone may play an important role in the neuroendocrine control of FSH release.