Effects of cranial cervical ganglionectomy and castration of male lambs. III. Hormonal responses following administration to gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH)

Abstract

Entire and castrate male lambs, which were cranial cervical ganglionectomized (GX) or untreated, were utilized in a study of responses to intravenous GnRH; 24 animals were treated at both 101 and 277 days of age. GX caused a reduction in basal LH concentrations of both wethers and rams at the first sampling, but increased pre-injection levels of this hormone in 277 day old wethers. Basal LH levels of castrates were substantially higher than those of entires, but GX had no significant influence on pretreatment testosterone secretion in rams. GnRH treatment elevated plasma LH levels in all animals, while in entires increases in testosterone concentrations also occurred. Castration significantly increased peak LH levels together with total LH output. At neither age were the LH or testosterone reponses influenced significantly by GX, nor was the interaction of castration and GX significant for LH response data. The major effect of age at GnRH treatment was that markedly higher testosterone responses were recorded from the older rams.