Diet-Induced Obesity and Ghrelin Effects on Pituitary Gonadotrophs: Immunohistomorphometric Study in Male Rats

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Institute for Biological Research Sinisa Stankovic, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

2 nstitute of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

3 Institute of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract

Objective: The close relationship between energy metabolism, nutritional state, and reproductive physiology suggests that nutritional and metabolic disorders can disrupt normal reproductive function and fertility. Considering the importance of leptin and ghrelin effects in regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of obesity and centrally applied ghrelin on immunohistochemical appearance and quantitative morphology of the pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) producing cells in adult male rats.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, animals were given two different diets: normal-fat (NF) and high-fat (HF), for 4 weeks, corresponding to normal and positive energy balance (n=2×14), respectively. Each group was subsequently divided into two subgroups (n=7) receiving intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of either ghrelin [G, 1 μg/5 μL phosphate buffered saline (PBS)] or vehicle (5 μL PBS, control group) every 24 hours for five consecutive days.
Results: Morphometric analyses showed that in HF control group, the percentage of FSH cells per unit volume of total pituitary gland tissue (in μm 3 ), i.e. volume density (Vvc), was increased (P

Keywords

Cell Journal (Yakhteh)
Volume 17, Issue 4
January 2016
Pages 711-719

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