Study summary · research use only
Effects of thymulin on spontaneous puberty and gonadotrophin-induced ovulation in prepubertal normal and hypothymic mice
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This study examined thymulin administration in female normal and hypothymic mice, assessing spontaneous puberty and gonadotrophin-induced ovulation. The authors report that daily thymulin begun at 24 days of age delayed vaginal opening and raised serum progesterone in both normal and hypothymic mice. Normal mice given 200 ng thymulin from day 19 and injected with pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin had increased ovulation rate, number of ova shed, and ovarian weight, whereas hypothymic mice treated this way did not ovulate. Adding thymulin before sequential PMSG and human chorionic gonadotrophin increased the ovulatory response compared with PMSG alone. The authors suggest thymulin participates in regulating spontaneous puberty and gonadotrophin secretion in a dose- and age-dependent manner, and that neuroendocrine puberty mechanisms differ in hypothymic mice.
Abstract
The effects of thymulin administration beginning on days 19 or 24 of age on spontaneous puberty and gonadotrophin-induced ovulation were analysed in female normal and hypothymic mice. In normal and hypothymic mice, the daily administration of thymulin at 24 days of age resulted in a delay in the age of vaginal opening, with an increase in serum progesterone levels. Normal mice treated with 200 ng thymulin beginning on day 19 of age and injected with pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) 24 h later had an increase in ovulation rate, number of ova shed and weight of the ovaries. None of the hypothymic mice treated with thymulin on day 19 and PMSG on day 20 ovulated. PMSG treatment on day 25 induced ovulation in hypothymic mice. When these animals were injected previously with 200 ng thymulin, the number of ova shed by ovulating animals was lower than in PMSG-treated animals. Administration of thymulin and sequential injection of PMSG and human chorionic gonadotrophin 54 h later resulted in an increase in ovulatory response in comparison with those receiving only PMSG. The results suggest that thymulin plays a role in the regulation of spontaneous puberty through its effects on adrenal and ovarian endocrine functions. The increase in the ovarian PMSG response-treated animals, previously given thymulin, showed that this thymic hormone participates in the regulation of gonadotrophin secretion mechanisms and seems to be dose- and age-dependent. In hypothymic mice, neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating puberty are different from those of normal mice.
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