Journal
ENDOCRINOLOGY
Volume 143, Issue 10, Pages 3748-3758Publisher
ENDOCRINE SOC
DOI: 10.1210/en.2002-220291
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [HD-30773] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide), a commonly used model of immune/inflammatory stress, inhibits reproductive neuroendocrine activity and concurrently induces a profound stimulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. We employed two approaches to test the hypothesis that enhanced secretion of cortisol mediates endotoxin-induced suppression of pulsatile GnRH and LH secretion in the ovariectomized ewe. First, we mimicked the endotoxin-induced increase in circulating cortisol by delivering the glucocorticoid in the absence of the endotoxin challenge. Within 1-2 h, experimentally produced increments in circulating cortisol suppressed pulsatile LH secretion in a dose-dependent fashion. Second, we blocked the endotoxin-induced stimulation of cortisol secretion using the drug metyrapone, which inhibits the 11-beta hydroxylase enzyme necessary for cortisol biosynthesis. In the absence of a marked stimulation of cortisol secretion, endotoxin still profoundly inhibited pulsatile GnRH and LH secretion. We conclude that, although enhanced cortisol secretion may contribute to endotoxin-induced suppression of reproductive neuroendocrine activity, the marked stimulation of the glucocorticoid is not necessary for this response. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that immune/inflammatory stress inhibits reproductive neuroendocrine activity via more than one inhibitory pathway, one involving enhanced secretion of cortisol and the other(s) being independent of this glucocorticoid.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available