Endocrinology, Vol 117, 208-216, Copyright © 1985 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

One month of streptozotocin-diabetes induces different neuroendocrine and morphological alterations in the hypothalamo-pituitary axis of male and female rats

G Bestetti, V Locatelli, F Tirone, GL Rossi and EE Muller

LHRH (median eminence) and LH (pituitary and plasma) from male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were assayed 1 month after streptozotocin injection and compared with values in controls either fed ad libitum or offered a restricted diet. Plasma LH was also assayed after stimulation with exogenous LHRH or naloxone. In diabetic males, the median eminence LHRH content and the plasma LH response to exogenous LHRH were unaltered, pituitary LH was increased, and plasma LH was decreased under basal conditions and after naloxone treatment. In diabetic females, while the median eminence LHRH content and the plasma LH response to exogenous LHRH or naloxone were reduced, pituitary and plasma LH levels were not different. Measurements made in undernourished rats excluded the possibility that the alterations found in diabetic animals were nutrition dependent. In parallel experiments, hypothalami and pituitaries were examined morphologically. In diabetic animals, degenerate axons, mainly of the LHRH type, were found in the arcuate nucleus and median eminence, and LH gonadotrophs were altered and more numerous. Strong differences between control males and females were revealed by morphometry; moreover, diabetic females had higher brain weights and fewer LH gonadotroph changes than diabetic males. These studies indicate that 1) the hypothalamo-pituitary changes that occur early in our streptozotocin-treated rats are unrelated to undernourishment and are possibly caused by insulin deficiency; 2) the LHRH axonal lesions might play a primary pathogenic role in the hypothalamo-pituitary disorder; 3) some anatomical data indicate that the brain and pituitary are less severely affected by diabetes in female than in male animals; and 4) differences between control males and females may account for some of the dissimilarities between the sexes observed under diabetic conditions.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Ballester, M.C. Munoz, J. Dominguez, M.J. Palomo, M. Rivera, T. Rigau, J.J. Guinovart, and J.E. Rodriguez-Gil Tungstate administration improves the sexual and reproductive function in female rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2007; 22(8): 2128 - 2135. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. I Arroba, A. M Lechuga-Sancho, L. M Frago, J. Argente, and J. A Chowen Cell-specific expression of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis in the anterior pituitary of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats J. Endocrinol., January 1, 2007; 192(1): 215 - 227. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. J. Ramsey, H. Ripps, and H. Qian An Electrophysiological Study of Retinal Function in the Diabetic Female Rat Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., November 1, 2006; 47(11): 5116 - 5124. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Froment, C. Staub, S. Hembert, C. Pisselet, M. Magistrini, B. Delaleu, D. Seurin, J. E. Levine, L. Johnson, M. Binoux, et al. Reproductive Abnormalities in Human Insulin-Like Growth Factor-Binding Protein-1 Transgenic Male Mice Endocrinology, April 1, 2004; 145(4): 2080 - 2091. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Lopez-Alvarenga, T. Zarinan, A. Olivares, J. Gonzalez-Barranco, J. D. Veldhuis, and A. Ulloa-Aguirre Poorly Controlled Type I Diabetes Mellitus in Young Men Selectively Suppresses Luteinizing Hormone Secretory Burst Mass J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., December 1, 2002; 87(12): 5507 - 5515. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Baccetti, A. la Marca, P. Piomboni, S. Capitani, E. Bruni, F. Petraglia, and V. De Leo Insulin-dependent diabetes in men is associated with hypothalamo-pituitary derangement and with impairment in semen quality Hum. Reprod., October 1, 2002; 17(10): 2673 - 2677. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Froment, D. Seurin, S. Hembert, J. E. Levine, C. Pisselet, D. Monniaux, M. Binoux, and P. Monget Reproductive Abnormalities in Human IGF Binding Protein-1 Transgenic Female Mice Endocrinology, May 1, 2002; 143(5): 1801 - 1808. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]