Abstract
In vertebrates, the gonadotrope axis is made up of the hypothalamus, belonging to the central nervous system, the pituitary gland and the gonads. These organs communicate with one another within entangled endocrine loops. From a dynamical viewpoint, the gonadotrope axis exhibits remarkable features, such as the pulsatile mode of secretion of the master reproductive hormone GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) and the permanent renewal of the gonadic tissues related to the maturation of the germ cell lines. We will present a multilevel and multiscale modelling approach of the gonadotrope axis focusing on the ovulation process. On the gonadic level, we address the question of the selection of ovarian follicles within the framework of controlled conservation laws. We have to deal with a 2D EDP with integro-differential expressions in the velocity and source terms. On the hypothalamic level, we design a model of GnRH secretion within the framework of weakly coupled nonlinear oscillators. The model outputs reproduce the transition from the pulsatile to the surge pattern and the changes in pulse frequency. To explain the behaviour of the model and meet qualitative and quantitative endocrinological specifications, we explore the whole sequence of bifurcations occurring within the model.
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