Alterations in the Postovariectomy Increases in Gonadotropin Secretion in Middle-Aged Persistent-Estrous Rats: Correlation with Pituitary Gonadotropin Subunit Gene Expression

Abstract

This study compared the changes in pituitary and serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) at various times following ovariectomy (OVX) between young cyclic and middle-aged persistent-estrous (PE) rats and related these to the relative gene expression of the pituitary gonadotropin subunits. In intact animals, both pituitary and serum levels of LH were similar between these two age groups, while the LHβ mRNA expression was significantly (p