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Changes in prolactin secretion in the short- and long-term after adrenalectomy
Maria Thereza C Laguna-Abreu1, Carla Germano, Ayrton C Moreira
1Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Biopathology, Universidade de Uberaba, MG, Brazil.
Objective:
To evaluate the modulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) on prolactin secretion in rats after adrenalectomy (ADX).
Materials And Methods:
Plasma corticosterone, ACTH, and prolactin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in rats after bilateral ADX in the short- (3 hours and 1 day) and long-term (3, 7, and 14 days).
Results:
Animals that underwent ADX showed undetectable corticosterone levels and a triphasic ACTH response with a transient increase (3h), a decrease (1d), and further increase in the long-term after ADX. Sham animals showed a marked increase in corticosterone and ACTH levels three hours after surgery, with a decrease to basal levels thereafter. Plasma prolactin levels were not changed after ADX.
Conclusion:
There are different points of equilibrium in the HPA axis after the glucocorticoid negative feedback is removed. Prolactin plasma secretion is not altered in the short or long- term after ADX, suggesting that the peptidergic neurons essential for prolactin release are not activated after ADX.
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