Possible effects of prostaglandin (PGE2) on hypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal axis in male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)
Dev, N.K.; Mangat, H.K.
International Journal of Fertility 27(1): 29-35
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0020-725X PMID: 6122655 Document Number: 193298
The effect on the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal axis of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) administered in a dose of 500 .mu.g/kg body wt per day for 15 days to adult monkeys is reported. It altered the functional integrity of the testis and accessory sex organs as reflected by the changes in the estimations of the alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, succinic dehydrogenase in the testis, sialic acids in caput and cauda epididymis, citric acid in the seminal vesicles, and fructose in the prostate and seminal vesicles. Histologically, PGE2 produced a marked decrease in the sperm count and an increase in the number and size of exfoliated granulocytes was observed, which might have been due to the stimulatory effect of PGE2 on gonadotropin release. The alterations induced in the ECG also suggest an involvement of hypothalamic mechanisms for gonadotropin release, for which certain plausible explanations have been provided. The changes in reproductive parameters might be a consequence of endocrinological and functional disturbance induced by PGE2 and there is a strong likelihood of involvement of hypothalamo-pituitary integration in this complex.