Human recombinant follistatin-288 suppresses plasma concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone but is not a significant regulator of luteinizing hormone in castrated rams

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Abstract

We have tested the hypothesis that treatment of castrated rams (wethers) with human recombinant follistatin-288 (FS-288) suppresses plasma concentrations of FSH but has no effect on plasma concentrations of LH. Wethers were given an i.v. injection of vehicle or 50 μg FS-288 followed by a 12-h i.v. infusion of vehicle or 800 μg FS-288, respectively. This dose and treatment regimen was identical to that used in a previous study in which wethers were treated with vehicle or human recombinant inhibin A (hr- inhibin). Human recombinant follistatin significantly (p < 0.05) suppressed plasma concentrations of FSH, but vehicle had no effect. The maximal suppression of FSH occurred 12-15 h after the start of treatment, at which time the plasma concentrations were reduced by 20.6%. The reduction in plasma concentrations of FSH caused by FS-288 was about 2.6-fold less than that observed after the same treatment with hr-inhibin. FS-288 had no effect on plasma concentrations of LH; this result was similar to the findings we obtained with hr-inhibin. These data suggest that follistatin is a less potent negative regulator of FSH secretion than inhibin and that follistatin is not a significant regulator of the secretion of LH in rams.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1353-1358
Number of pages6
JournalBiology of Reproduction
Volume53
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 1995

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