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Pituitary Follistatin and Activin Gene Expression, and the Testicular Regulation of FSH in the Adult Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta)¹

Departments of Medicine (S.J.W., S.K.) and Cell Biology and Physiology (A.S., T.M.P.), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261; and Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology, University of Louisville School of Medicine (S.J.W.), Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Tony M. Plant, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 828A Scaife Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261. E-mail: plant1+{at}pitt.edu

In rats, FSHß gene expression and FSH secretion are increased and decreased, respectively, by pituitary activin and follistatin. Because little information is available on the paracrine control of FSH secretion in the primate, follistatin and activin/inhibin ß_B messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were measured in pituitaries of adult male rhesus monkeys 6 weeks after castration or sham surgery (n = 5/group). Follistatin mRNA was determined by quantitative RT-PCR assay using oligonucleotide primers designed to span exons 3–5 of the human follistatin gene. Activin/inhibin ß_B mRNA levels were measured by ribonuclease protection. Orchidectomy resulted in a 100-fold increase in plasma FSH concentrations and a 60-fold rise in those of LH. In castrated monkeys, levels of mRNA encoding FSHß, LHß, - subunit, and GnRH receptor (GnRH-R) were increased 21-, 2.1-, 1.7-, and 1.7-fold, respectively (P < 0.01). Levels of pituitary follistatin and activin/inhibin ß_B mRNAs, however, were similar in castrated and intact animals. These data suggest that the paracrine control of FSH secretion in the male differs substantially in primates and rodents. Specifically, the relatively greater postcastration rise in FSHß gene expression and FSH secretion in the adult male monkey may result because in this species pituitary follistatin gene expression does not increase after orchidectomy, as it does in the rat.