Effect of human growth hormone on the reproduction of female rats

Female rats were treated with human growth hormone (hGH) 0.3, 1.0 and 3.3 IU/kg daily for two weeks before mating, throughout mating and during the first seven days of pregnancy. Treatment with 1.0 and 3.3 IU/kg hGH caused a significant prolongation of the oestrous cycle. As a consequence the number of mating days was more than doubled compared to placebo treatment. The number of implantation sites and corpora lutea was significantly higher in hGH treated rats than in placebo treated rats. The number of early resorptions was increased in the rats given 3.3 IU/kg. The number of foetuses in rats sacrificed on day 20 of pregnancy and the number of viable offspring from the rats allowed to give birth were significantly increased by treatment with 1.0 IU/kg hGH. In a study of 4-day cyclic rats, treatment with 3.3 IU/kg hGH caused a prolongation of the cycle length to an average of 10.1 days, and the plasma progesterone levels tended to be higher in those rats in which the cyclic patterns had been most deranged. Foetal body weights were increased in the hGH groups, and a study with 125I-hGH indicated that hGH administered to pregnant rats will to some extent pass the placenta.