title: Effect of pineal treatment on serum and testicular sialic and nucleic acids in basal and HCG treated rats.
abstract: The effect of a melatonin-free pineal extract, two pineal fractions, obtained by ultrafiltration one above, the other under 10,000 daltons molecular weight, melatonin and the partly purified gonadotropin inhibiting urinary substance (GIS) on the serum and testicular sialic acid, testicular nucleic acids and proteins in the rat under basal conditions and after stimulation with exogeonus HCG, was investigated. Under basal condition the pineal extract induced a statistically significant decrease in serum and testicular sialic acid after 3 and 12 days of treatment. The effect of the extract on the sialic acid was also present under the action of the two fractions after a 12-day treatment. Conversely, after a 30-day treatment the pineal extract induced an opposite effect, i.e. a statistically significant increase in the serum and testicular sialic acid. Melatonin failed to induce any significant changes after a 3-day trial. GIS induced an increase only in serum sialic acid after a 6-day trial. Under exogenous HCG stimulation the following results were obtained: doses of HCG (25,50 and 75 i.u.) given along 3 days caused a significant increase in sialic acid; the pineal extract inhibited only partly the stimulating effect of HCG on the sialic acid; melatonin did not produce comparable effects and GIS caused an elevation only at serum level. As concerns the nucleic acids and proteins, under basal conditions the pineal extract caused the following effects: a significant increase in RNA and proteins after 3 days, a slightly increased level after 12 days and a significant decrease after 30 days of treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010870:Pineal Gland; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014020:Tissue Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D012794:Sialic Acids; D014020:Tissue Extracts; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA