Involvement of the catecholaminergic input to the paraventricular nucleus and of corticotropin-releasing hormone in the fasting-induced suppression of luteinizing hormone release in female rats.

The roles of the adrenergic projection to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and of central CRH in the suppression of pulsatile LH secretion during 48-h fasting were examined in ovariectomized estradiol (E2)-treated rats. The animals were ovariectomized and immediately implanted with Silastic tubing containing E2. One week after ovariectomy and E2 implantation, the animals were implanted stereotaxically with a guide cannula for microinjection into the PVN or intracerebroventricular (icv) injection. One week later, some of the animals were deprived of food for 48 h. The unfasted controls were provided with food ad libitum. At this point, blood samples were collected every 6 min for 3 h. Animals received an injection of 50 micrograms alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT), a catecholamine synthesis inhibitor, into the PVN 3 h before the sampling started or an icv injection of 26 nmol alpha-helical CRF-(9-41), a CRH antagonist, after the first hour of blood sampling; control animals were given the vehicle at the equivalent time. The fasted animals injected with AMPT showed a significantly higher mean LH concentration and LH pulse frequency over the 3-h sampling period compared with the vehicle-injected controls. Treatment with AMPT had no significant effect on LH secretion in unfasted animals. The icv injection of alpha-helical CRF-(9-41) reinstated the suppressed LH release in fasted rats, but had no significant effect in unfasted animals. These results suggest that the adrenergic projection to the PVN and central CRH are involved in the suppression of pulsatile LH release during food deprivation. The possibility that fasting activates an ascending adrenergic projection that stimulates CRH release and thus suppresses pulsatile LH secretion is discussed.