help button home button Endocrine Society Endocrinology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Copyright Permission
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nguyen, A. P.
Right arrow Articles by Gupta, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nguyen, A. P.
Right arrow Articles by Gupta, C.

Endocrinology, Vol 137, 3659-3666, Copyright © 1996 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

The role of growth hormone in fetal mouse reproductive tract differentiation

AP Nguyen, A Chandorkar and C Gupta
Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.

Although GH plays a key role in postnatal growth and differentiation, its role in fetal differentiation is not clear at the present. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether GH plays a role in fetal sexual differentiation, and we used in vitro organ culture assay of sexual differentiation to determine this. The results showed that anti-rGH antibody blocked Wolffian duct differentiation specifically in the presence of fetal testes. Exogenous GH supplemented in the above experiment reversed the blocking effect of anti-GH. Among the other related products, insulin-like growth factor I was highly effective in reversing the anti-GH effect, insulin-like growth factor II was partially effective, but PRL was unable to reverse the anti-GH effect. GH itself was found to produce some masculinizing effect, as demonstrated by its ability to stabilize the Wolffian duct in female fetuses. The role of GH was further demonstrated by the observation that GH-immunoreactive material of the size of authentic GH was detected in the 18-day fetal reproductive tract, and the concentration of this material increased in response to progression of sexual differentiation. Determination of androgen-binding activity using Scatchard analysis on the cells isolated from the 18-day fetal reproductive tract indicated that androgen-binding activity increased after GH treatment of the cells. Thus, it may be concluded that GH influences male sexual differentiation and alters the androgen-binding activity of the fetal reproductive tract.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
J. Xu, Z. Liu, T. L. Clemens, and J. L. Messina
Insulin Reverses Growth Hormone-induced Homologous Desensitization
J. Biol. Chem., August 4, 2006; 281(31): 21594 - 21606.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
H. Jiang, C. S. Okamura, and M. C. Lucy
Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Promoter for the Bovine Growth Hormone Receptor Gene
J. Biol. Chem., March 19, 1999; 274(12): 7893 - 7900.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Endocrinology Endocrine Reviews J. Clin. End. & Metab.
Molecular Endocrinology Recent Prog. Horm. Res. All Endocrine Journals
Copyright © 1996 by The Endocrine Society