LaPaglia N, Steiner J, Kirsteins L, Emanuele M A, Emanuele N
Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, USA.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997 Dec;21(9):1567-72.
It is the purpose of this study to investigate the effects of acute ethanol (EtOH) on the female rat hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. The molecular and cellular mechanistic details of such effects have been studied intensively in the male rat. However, there has been relatively little in-depth study of EtOH's effects on the adult, postpubertal female rat. Adult female rats with confirmed 4- or 5-day estrous cycles were given a single injection of EtOH or saline between noon and 1:00 PM on proestrous and were killed at 4:00 PM. EtOH caused a sharp 97% reduction in luteinizing hormone (LH) serum levels (p < 0.001), compared with controls with no concomitant change in LH mRNA. EtOH also significantly reduced hypothalamic LH releasing hormone (LHRH) by 49% (p < 0.01), with no change in content of the precursor pro-LHRH compared with saline-injected controls. The ratio of LHRH to pro-LHRH was also significantly reduced by EtOH (p < 0.05), compared with control. There was no EtOH-induced change in LHRH mRNA. Compared with saline, EtOH reduced both serum estradiol by 37% (p < 0.02) and progesterone by 47% (p < 0.001). These results show that EtOH has profound disruptive effects on the female HPG axis. Our data suggests that EtOH decreases the releasable LHRH pool either by decreasing conversion of pro-LHRH to LHRH and/or by increasing local LHRH degradation. This acutely restricts the release of LH and subsequent estradiol and progesterone secretion.
本研究旨在探讨急性乙醇（EtOH）对雌性大鼠下丘脑 - 垂体 - 性腺（HPG）轴的影响。此类影响的分子和细胞机制细节已在雄性大鼠中进行了深入研究。然而，对于EtOH对成年、青春期后雌性大鼠的影响，相对较少有深入研究。对具有确认的4或5天发情周期的成年雌性大鼠，在发情前期的中午至下午1点之间单次注射EtOH或生理盐水，并于下午4点处死。与对照组相比，EtOH导致促黄体生成素（LH）血清水平急剧下降97%（p < 0.001），而LH mRNA无相应变化。EtOH还使下丘脑促性腺激素释放激素（LHRH）显著降低49%（p < 0.01），与注射生理盐水的对照组相比，前体促LHRH的含量没有变化。与对照组相比，EtOH还使LHRH与促LHRH的比值显著降低（p < 0.05）。EtOH未引起LHRH mRNA的变化。与生理盐水相比，EtOH使血清雌二醇降低37%（p < 0.02），孕酮降低47%（p < 0.001）。这些结果表明，EtOH对雌性HPG轴具有深远的破坏作用。我们的数据表明，EtOH通过减少促LHRH向LHRH的转化和/或增加局部LHRH降解，降低了可释放的LHRH池。这急性限制了LH的释放以及随后雌二醇和孕酮的分泌。
