title: The influence of gonadal steroids and the pituitary on the levels and composition of plasma phospholipids in the rat.
abstract: Gonadal steroids have been shown to influence plasma phospholipids. In the present study, the possible interaction between gonadal steroids and the pituitary in the regulation of plasma phospholipids was studied in rats. The total phospholipid concentration (higher in females) and the fatty acid composition of plasma lecithin was different in male compared to female rats. Gonadectomy resulted in a "feminization" of plasma phospholipids (total concentration and fatty acids in lecithin) in male rats but had no effect in females. Testosterone treatment of gonadectomized males or intact females resulted in a "masculinization" of plasma phospholipids, whereas estrogen treatment of intact males resulted in a "feminization." Hypophysectomy resulted in a marked decrease in plasma phospholipid concentration and the fatty acid composition of lecithin showed a "masculine" pattern in both males and females. Neither testosterone nor estrogen treatment had any effects on plasma phospholipids in hypophysectomized male and female rats, respectively. It is concluded that gonadal steroids and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis interact in the regulation of the synthetic and perhaps also degradative pathways controlling plasma phospholipids.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002369:Castration; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000502:physiology*; D007016:Hypophysectomy; D008297:Male; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000097:blood; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013739:Testosterone / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids; D013739:Testosterone