Induction of superovulation in prepubertal female rats by anterior pituitary transplants

Transplants of 26-day-old rats of an anterior pituitary gland from adult intact or castrated male, 20-day-old or adult ovariectomized female donors (all of which contained large amounts of FSH) resulted in superovulation in recipients on the morning of Day 29. Transplants of the gland from 20-day-old males and adult cyclic females could not advance the time of first ovulation or induce superovulation. In the rats in which superovulation could be induced, a marked increase in plasma FSH was noted in recipients shortly after transplantation and the high levels of plasma FSH were maintained until at least 12 h after grafting. These rats also showed preovulatory surges of LH and FSH 54 h after grafting. No obvious elevation of plasma FSH was noted over 72 h in recipients in which superovulation could not be induced. These findings suggest that the final maturation of follicles for superovulation is induced by a transient release of a large amount of FSH from the grafted pituitary gland and that the sex of the pituitary donor has no bearing on this phenomenon.