Acting at the level of the brain, interleukin- (IL-)1β is considered to be one of the most potent downregulators of reproduction processes during immune/inflammatory challenge. IL-1β suppresses gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion from the hypothalamus resulting in the inhibition of the luteinizing hormone (LH) release from the anterior pituitary (AP). However, the presence of IL-1β receptors in the AP suggests the possible direct action of this cytokine on LH secretion. The study was designed to determine the effect of IL-1β on the LH secretion from the AP explants collected from saline and LPS-treated ewes in the follicular phase. It was found that IL-1β suppressed (P ≤ 0.01) GnRH-stimulated LH release and LHβ gene expression in AP explants in both groups. However, IL-1β action was more potent in the explants collected from LPS-treated animals. Pituitaries from LPS-treated animals were characterized by increased (P ≤ 0.01) IL-1 type I receptor and decreased (P ≤ 0.01) GnRH receptor gene expression level compared to the saline-treated group. IL-1β also affected the GnRH-R gene expression in explants collected from LPS-treated animals. Our results show that direct action of IL-1β on the pituitary gonadotropes could be one of the reasons of the reproductive processes disorders accompanying an inflammatory state.
The study was designed to test the hypothesis that the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity at the periphery by Neostigmine (0.5 mg/animal) will be sufficient to prevent inflammatory dependent suppression of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)/luteinising hormone (LH) secretion in ewes in the follicular phase of the estrous cycle, and this effect will be comparable with the systemic AChE inhibitor, Donepezil (2.5 mg/animal). An immune/inflammatory challenge was induced by peripheral administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 400 ng/kg). Peripheral treatment with Donepezil and Neostigmine prevented the LPS-induced decrease (P < 0.05) in LHβ gene expression in the anterior pituitary gland (AP) and in LH release. Moreover, Donepezil completely abolished (P < 0.05) the suppressory effect of inflammation on GnRH synthesis in the preoptic area, when pretreatment with Neostigmine reduced (P < 0.05) the decrease in GnRH content in this hypothalamic structure. Moreover, administration of both AChE inhibitors diminished (P < 0.05) the inhibitory effect of LPS treatment on the expression of GnRH receptor in the AP. Our study shows that inflammatory dependent changes in the GnRH/LH secretion may be eliminated or reduced by AChE inhibitors suppressing inflammatory reaction only at the periphery such as Neostigmine, without the need for interfering in the central nervous system.
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