Abstract
The effects of nutritional obesity on prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) secretion in mice of the C3H/St strain were studied. Obesity was produced by feeding a diet containing 60% fat. Control animals received Purina Lab Chow containing 4.5% fat. Body weights of mice fed the high fat diet averaged 38-55% above controls. Basal levels of PRL in sera of high fat mice were usually similar to those of controls (except for second orbital samples which tended to be lower), but PRL levels after stimulation with perphenazine, a drug that causes prompt release of PRL, were 25% greater in mice fed the high fat diet than in controls. The pituitary PRL content of female mice fed the high fat diet for 9 months was also greater than that of the controls. The high fat diet produced no changes in serum GH concentrations of male mice, but the concentrations were generally higher than normal in female mice on high fat diet. Pituitary GH concentrations were reduced by high fat diet in mice of both sexes. The results show that chronic intake of high fat adversely influences PRL and GH secretion in mice and suggest that the abnormal secretion of these hormones may be related to some of the anomalies found in nutritional obesity.
Key words
Nutritional Obesity - Prolactin - Growth Hormone - Mice
1 Supported by Grant No. CA-14025 and CA 18664, awarded by the National Cancer Institute, DHEW. A preliminary report of part of this work has appeared in abstract form (Progr. 58th Meet. Endocr. Soc, 1976, p. 266).
2 Visiting professor. Permanent address: Department of Dairy Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824.
