title: Nighttime immunoreactive somatostatin content of the median eminence in hypo- and hyperthyroid rats.
abstract: The median eminence content of immunoreactive somatostatin (IRS) was measured by radioimmunoassay in 107 male albino rats, who were either hypothyroid after surgical thyroidectomy (N = 38), hyperthyroid following a subcutaneous implant of 5 mg of L-thyroxine (N = 36), or otherwise untreated (N = 33). Thyroid function was assessed by determining plasma levels of T4 and TSH from trunk blood obtained at the time of decapitation. Subgroups of animals from the 3 groups were killed either before (1800 hr), during (2200, 0200, 0400 hr), or after the dark portion of their 14:10 LD photoperiod. Although no changes in median eminence IRS content were found throughout the period of study within any of the 3 groups, hypothyroid animals (297.23 +/- 13.47 ng per ME; 620.41 +/- 58 ng IRS/mg protein) had a significantly lower median eminence IRS concentration than untreated rats (355.86 +/- 16.55 ng of IRS per ME, P less than 0.01; 906.86 +/- 96.38 ng IRS/mg protein, P less than 0.05) and hyperthyroid animals (384.12 +/- 14.67 ng per ME, P less than 0.001; 874.1 +/- 104.5 ng IRS@mg protein, P less than 0.05). It is concluded, that the feedback of thyroid hormones on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis during thyroid hormone excess in vivo, contrary to what occurs in hypothyroidism, is probably independent of hypothalamic somatostatin.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Champney
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Reiter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003624:Darkness; D006980:Hyperthyroidism / Q000378:metabolism*; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008473:Median Eminence / Q000378:metabolism*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D013004:Somatostatin