Consequence of Neonatal Androgenization and Castration for Future Levels of Norepinephrine Transmitter in Uterus and Vas Deferens of the Rat

Abstract

Castration of male rats immediately afterbirth, which induces a permanent femininization of reproductive function, resulted in a marked reduction in the weight and total organ content of norepinephrine in the vasa deferentia as measured before and after sexual maturation. The norepinephrine fall was about 3-fold greater than after castration of adult animals. Androgenìzation of female rats by a single injection of testosterone propionate on the 5th day post partum did not affect uterine weight, but significantly lowered total organ content of norepinephrine when measured before and after sexual maturation. It is suggested that the vasa deferentia and uterus contain a population of adrenergic nerves, probably identical with or part of the system of ‘short adrenergic neurons’ that constitute a separate target system for those humoral factors which determine the pattern of development of the reproductive tract by influencing the early differentiation of the hypothalamus.

Influence of Age, Growth, Castration and Testosterone Treatment on the Noradrenaline Levels of the Ductus Deferens and the Auxiliary Male Reproductive Glands of the Rat

“…There are no data on the NA-content of the rat vas deferens at birth, but it must be minute since the adrenergic nerves have not penetrated the organ (De Champlain et al 1970, Owman et al 1971). However, the NA content of the vas deferens of the 8-day-old rat is about 0.014 pg per pair of uasa deferentia (Owman et al 1971) and that per pair of uasa deferentia of the 13-week-old neonatally castrated rat is about 0.150 pg (Broberg et al 1974). This means that also in the vas deferens of neonatally castrated rat there must be a considerable increase in NA-content when the rats grow.…”

“…Possibly Wakade et al have had an incomplete extraction of NA from the tough tissues of old animals and the compact tissues of castrated animals (see material and methods). Broberg et al (1974) reported that neonatal castration of the male rat produced a much more pronounced decrease in NA-content of the vas deferens than does castration of the "adult" (250 g) rat. The more pronounced effect of neonatal castration was supposed to be due to "norepinephrine changes in the short adrenergic neurons induced when testosterone production is abolished before a critical stage of postnatal development and constitute a separate abnormality within the feminization process".…”

The fertilizing capacity of epididymal spermatozoa in relation to age, body weight and the onset of sexual maturity in the golden hamster

“…All males that received 50 µg testosterone daily for 1 week produced fertile matings, and thus it would seem that exogenous testosterone might increase circulating androgen levels sufficiently to differentially stimulate the development of ejaculation ability without producing an increase in the level of seminal vesicular fructose. The hormonal requirements for the functional development of the short adrenergic post-ganglionic neurons that innervate the smooth musculature of the cauda epididymidis and ductus deferens in a variety of species (Sjostrand, 1965) are not known, but androgen is probably involved because postnatal deprivation of testosterone in rats reduces the norepinephrine content of the ductus deferens before and after the time when sexual maturity normally occurs (Broberg, Nybell, Owman, Rosengren & Sjoberg, 1974). This study was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation and a grant (HD 03472) from the NIH, U.S. Public Health Service.…”