Effects of chronic administration of sheep stalk-median eminence extract on organ weights of immature hypophysectomized rats with pituitary grafts.

Abstract

SummarySingle pituitary grafts from donors of the same sex maintained some growth and led to slight maintenance of testes in male and uteri in female hypophysectomized rats. There was slight maintenance of adrenal weight in both sexes. Injection of crude sheep stalk-median eminence (SME) extracts resulted in a further significant increase in testes and ventral prostate weights in hypophysectomized, grafted males and in uterine and ovarian weights in grafted females on comparison to the weights of these organs in grafted animals injected with cerebral cortical extract. Adrenal weight was increased in rats of both sexes by SME extract. The results provide evidence that chronic injection of hypothalamic extract can increase the weight of pituitary target organs in both male and female rats presumably via stimulation of both release and synthesis of pituitary hormones.