title: Effect of alpha-melanotropin hormone on serum levels of luteinizing hormone and progesterone in experimental rat autoimmune oophoritis.
abstract: We studied the effect of alpha-melanotropin hormone (alpha-MSH) on experimental autoimmune oophoritis (EAO), an inflammatory process induced in female rats. During proestrus, serum levels of LH and progesterone in rats with EAO were higher than those of control rats. However, administration of alpha-MSH to these rats decreased the levels of LH. Similarly, in the following diestrus, rats with EAO had high levels of LH but treatment with alpha-MSH decreased the levels to diestrus 2 control values. Treatment with alpha-MSH also reduced the LH levels of control rats in diestrus 2 compared to untreated controls. However, alpha-MSH treatment had no effect on progesterone levels of either control or rats with EAO. Thus, although alpha-MSH induced notable changes in levels of LH, this decrease was unable to block the illness.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Berberian
authors.forename: Silvina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Mariela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Borzone
authors.forename: Andrés M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Attademo
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lasaga
authors.forename: Maria Ester
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Celis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004031:Diestrus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D009869:Oophoritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology*; D011359:Proestrus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D000521:alpha-MSH / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone; D000521:alpha-MSH; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone