A short lesson in endocrinology may help answer this question. GnRH is the abbreviation for gonadotropin releasing hormone, a natural hormone that is released from the hypothalamus in the brain. GnRH causes the release of two other hormones known as gonadotropins from the pituitary gland. Luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) are the gonadotropins. During the normal es...

Gonadotropins are required for gametogenesis but in embryonic gonads this mechanism is not well understood. Here we use chicken embryos to investigate the mechanism that gonadotropins regulate the ovarian germ cell mitosis/meiosis decision. Treatment with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) delayed germ cell meiosis entry and promoted their proliferation. This action was blocked by an aromatase ...

Fully grown mammalian oocytes resume meiosis as a consequence of rises in gonadotropin levels at the mid-cycle. The increase of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) and the activation of protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in cumulus cells are required for gonadotropins-induced meiotic resumption of oocytes. The various actions of cA...

An attempt is made to induce the pethidine suppressed gonadal activities by the administration of exogenous gonadotropins (hCG, PMSG, hCG + PMSG). Administration of 5 IU gonadotropins either separately or in combination to the rats treated with pethidine for 30 days resulted in the significant increase in the weight of testis, diameter of testis and seminiferous tubules. Gonadotropin(s) treatme...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present randomised controlled non-inferiority trial is to test whether in women with compromised ovarian reserve requiring in vitro fertilisation, a protocol of ovarian stimulation using exclusively clomiphene citrate performs similarly to a regimen with high doses of gonadotropins. METHODS Women with day 3 serum FSH > 12 IU/ml on at least two occasions or previous p...

Neurohormones similar to those of mammals are carried in fish by hypothalamic nerve fibers to regulate directly follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulates the secretion of FSH and LH and the expression of the glycoprotein hormone alpha (GPalpha), FSHbeta, and LHbeta, as well as their secretion. Its signal transduction leadin...

Pituitary gonadotropins, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) play central roles in regulating gametogenesis and the production of gonadal hormones, in fish as in other vertebrates. Pituitary gonadotropins are composed of two non-covalently associated polypeptide subunits, which must be glycosylated, folded, and assembled as a heterodimer to be biologically active. Si...

Inhibin production differs in ovaries of Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) exposed to long days (LD) or short days (SD). We believe that seasonal differences in serum follicle-stimulating hormone contribute to this difference. However, given the profound photoperiodic differences in follicle maturation, serum gonadotropins alone may not account for all of the observed differences in inhibin...

Non-obstructive azoospermia is diagnosed in approximately 10% of infertile men. It represents a failure of spermatogenesis within the testis and, from a management standpoint, is due to either a lack of appropriate stimulation by gonadotropins or an intrinsic testicular impairment. The former category of patients has hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and benefits from specific hormonal therapy. The...

1. In vertebrates, reproduction is primarily controlled by the HPG axis and, the structure of this endocrine pathway is highly conserved in jawed vertebrates (gnathostoma). The hypothalamic neuroendocrine system regulates synthesis and release of the gonadotropins, follicle-stimulating-hormone (FSH) and LH, from the pituitary, which in turn stimulate gonadal development, in particular via the i...