Administration of monosodium glutamate to neonatal male rats: alterations in the gonadotrophs and in gonadotrophin secretion

Glutamate-induced obesity leads to decreased sperm reserves and acceleration of transit time in the epididymis of adult male rats

BACKGROUND

Given the established fact that obesity interferes with male reproductive functions, the present study aimed to evaluate sperm production in the testis and storage in the epididymis in a glutamate-induced model of obesity.

METHODS

Male rats were treated neonatally with monosodium glutamate (MSG) at doses of 4 mg/kg subcutaneously, or with saline solution (control group), on postnatal days 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. On day 120, obesity was confirmed by the Lee index in all MSG-treated rats. After this, all animals from the two experimental groups were anesthetized and killed to evaluate body and reproductive organ weights, sperm parameters, plasma hormone levels (FSH, LH and testosterone), testicular and epididymal histo-morphometry and histopathology.

RESULTS

Significant reductions in absolute and relative weights of testis, epididymis, prostate and seminal vesicle were noted in MSG-treated animals. In these same animals plasma testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations were decreased, as well as sperm counts in the testis and epididymis and seminiferous epithelium height and tubular diameter. The sperm transit time was accelerated in obese rats. However, the number of Sertoli cells per seminiferous tubule and stereological findings on the epididymis were not markedly changed by obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

Neonatal MSG-administered model of obesity lowers sperm production and leads to a reduction in sperm storage in the epididymis of adult male rats. The acceleration of sperm transit time can have implications for the sperm quality of these rats.

Neural transplants. effects On startle responses in neonatally MSG-treated rats

Neonatal monosodium glutamate (MSG) treatment has been associated with dysfunctions in stress responses. Therefore, the present study aimed at examining the acoustic startle response (ASR) in MSG-treated rats and the effects of fetal neural transplantation. Male and female rats were given MSG (4 mg/g) or saline on alternate days from days 2-10 after birth. To determine whether fetal transplants could reverse behavioral impairments observed in MSG-treated rats, at 12 days of age MSG-treated rats received either arcuate nucleus (AN), cortical fetal grafts, or sham surgery into the third ventricle. ASR amplitude was measured at 35-40 days of age, and again in adulthood. MSG produced the expected decrease in the density of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the AN area. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons/fibers were not affected by MSG. Pituitary atrophy was observed in all MSG rats. We report a permanent increase in the amplitude and reduction in short-term habituation of ASR in all MSG-treated rats. No effect was observed on long-term habituation in male rats. Cortical, but not AN tissue significantly reduced the magnitude of ASR in MSG animals. The results are discussed in terms of the central pathways mediating ASR, in particular hypothalamo-amygdala connections. It is considered that nonspecific factors mediate recovery produced by cortical tissue grafts, as observed in other models of neural transplantation.

Excitotoxic mechanisms of neurodegeneration in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

Endogenous excitatory amino acids (EAAs) such as glutamic or aspartic acids have been proposed to mediate the brain damage to EAA receptor-rich brain sites that is caused by a variety of external toxic agents (glutamic acid, domoic acid, kainic acid, ibogaine, trimethyltin (TMT), 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA)), as well as from such naturally-occurring age-related neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's chorea, and Parkinson's disease. Sites often damaged include the hypothalamus (glutamate), the hippocampal and neocortical pyramidal neurons (domoic acid), the cerebellar Purkinje neurons (ibogaine) and the corpus striatum (3-NPA, amphetamine). The excitotoxic damage occurs to neuronal cell bodies and their dendrites, resulting in a characteristics appearance of pyknotic neurons surrounded by their vacuolated, swollen dendrites. Axons passing through the region that lack EAA receptors are completely spared. However, astrocytes with swollen perikarya and nuclei (Alzheimer's type II "reactive" astrocytes) are often observed in the vicinity of the lesions. Animal and human "Prion Diseases" or "Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies" (TSEs) result (after a period of months to years) in a neurodegenerative picture characterized by pyknotic neurons surrounded by vacuoles with numerous reactive astrocytes in the vicinity of the damage. In addition, amyloid deposits composed of a protease-resistant protein (PrPSc) characteristic of the particular host species with the disease are found near the degenerating neurons. By using different strains of the scrapies TSE agent to inoculate hamsters and mice, reproducible models of hypothalamic, hippocampal, or cerebellar damage resulting in the appropriate functional deficits may be obtained. Because of the close similarity in the appearance, localization, and functional consequences from TSE neuropathology compared to some of the well-known EAA syndromes, we propose that excitotoxic mechanisms may play a role in the pathogenesis of TSE neurodegenerative diseases. The similarity in pathogenesis of the neurodegenerative processes in excitotoxicity compared to TSE diseases also implies that neuroprotective strategies against excitotoxicity may also be effective against TSEs.

Immunohistochemical evidence of neurons with GHRH or LHRH in the arcuate nucleus of male mice and their possible role in the postnatal development of adenohypophysial cells

BACKGROUND

The neonatal administration of monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) has been used in investigations of the possible role of the arcuate nucleus in neuroendocrine regulation during postnatal development. We used this method to examine whether the mouse arcuate contained cell bodies immunoreactive with antisera to growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) or luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH), and whether these hypothalamic peptides affect synthesis and secretion of growth hormone and gonadotropin and the testis.

METHODS

The hypothalamus, pituitary, and testes of adult male mice treated with MSG during the neonatal period were fixed in Bouin's fluid or 10% neutral formalin. The hypothalamus was used in immune staining, the pituitary was used in both morphometry and immune staining, and the testis was stained with hematoxylin and eosin.

RESULTS

Body weights in control and treated mice were not different. The treated mice had more subcutaneous adipose tissue and a shorter body than the control mice. The testes were heavier in the controls. Many perikarya immunoreactive with antisera to GHRH or LHRH were found in the arcuate nucleus in control mice, but few such perikarya were found in this nucleus in treated mice. The size of the anterior lobe and the number and size of GH cells, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) cells, and prolactin (PRL) cells in treated mice were less than those of control mice.

CONCLUSIONS

GHRH and LHRH neurons in the arcuate nucleus in male mice may cause body and testis weight to increase via GH and LH cells, respectively, in the adenohypophysis during postnatal development. There are some differences in the hypothalamo-pituitary-testis axis of mice and rats.

Neuroendocrine mechanism of onset of puberty. Sequential reduction in activity of inhibitory and facilitatory N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors

In humans and in several animal species, puberty results from changes in pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion in the hypothalamus. In particular, the frequency of pulsatile GnRH secretion increases at the onset of puberty, as can be shown by using hypothalamic explants of male rats of 15 and 25 d. Previous observations from us and others suggested that the initiation of puberty could involve a facilitatory effect of excitatory amino acids mediated through N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. We found that GnRH secretion could be activated through NMDA receptors only around the time of onset of puberty (25 d). The aim of this study was to clarify why this activation did not occur earlier (at 15 d) and could no longer be observed by the end of puberty (at 50 d). We studied GnRH secretion in the presence of MK-801, a noncompetitive antagonist of NMDA receptors or AP-5, a competitive antagonist. We showed that, in the hypothalamus of immature male rats (15 d), a highly potent inhibitory control of pulsatile GnRH secretion in vitro was mediated through NMDA receptors. These data were confirmed in vivo because administration of the antagonist MK-801 (0.001 mg/kg) to immature male rats resulted in early pubertal development. Onset of puberty (25 d) was characterized by the disappearance of that NMDA receptor-mediated inhibition, thus unmasking a facilitatory effect also mediated through NMDA receptors. During puberty, there was a reduction in activity of this facilitatory control which was no longer opposed by its inhibitory counterpart. We conclude that a sequential reduction in activity of inhibitory and facilitatory NMDA receptors provides a developmental basis for the neuroendocrine mechanism of onset of puberty.

Effects of neonatal administration of monosodium glutamate and castration on neurokinin A levels in the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary of rats

The effects of neonatal administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and castration on hypothalamic and anterior pituitary levels of neurokinin A (NKA) were studied in male and female rats killed at 46 days of age. In male rats treated neonatally with MSG, body, anterior pituitary, testis, ventral prostate, and seminal vesicle weights and serum testosterone levels were significantly lower than in saline-injected controls. Hypothalamic NKA was significantly lower in MSG-treated male rats as compared with the controls, and no apparent changes were recorded in anterior pituitary NKA. Orchidectomy was followed by a significant decrease in hypothalamic NKA in saline controls, but not in MSG-treated rats. In female rats treated with MSG, there was a significant decrease in body, anterior pituitary, and ovarian weights, as compared with saline-injected controls, but no significant differences were observed in uterine weights and serum estradiol levels. Hypothalamic NKA was lower, although not significantly, in MSG-treated rats as compared with the respective controls, and no differences were recorded in anterior pituitary NKA levels. Ovariectomy was followed by a significant decrease in hypothalamic NKA in both MSG-treated and control rats, but NKA in the anterior pituitary was significantly increased after ovariectomy only in saline-treated controls, whereas MSG-treated females failed to show this response. It is concluded that neonatal MSG treatment resulted in a decrease of hypothalamic NKA, which was particularly pronounced in male rats without any significant change in anterior pituitary NKA levels. The response of hypothalamic NKA to castration and the response of anterior pituitary NKA to ovariectomy were also altered in MSG-treated rats; this may reflect a functional block of some neuroendocrine functions of the hypothalamus that resulted from the neuronal lesions induced by MSG.

Sex-specific impairment in sexual and ingestive behaviors of monosodium glutamate-treated rats

L-monosodium glutamate (MSG) (4 mg/g b.wt.) was injected subcutaneously to pups on days 1 and 3. At age 3.5 months, sexual and ingestive behaviors were observed. Neonatal MSG treatment resulted in severe and widespread neuron destruction in the basomedial hypothalamus of both sexes, but only super-chiasmatic nucleus in male rats. A decline in sexual behavior was also observed. Serum levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in male rats as well as serum level of progesterone in female rats were decreased. Ovariectomized MSG-treated female rats injected with estradiol benzoate followed by progesterone showed a dramatic improvement in sexual behavior, whereas castrated MSG-treated male rats injected with testosterone propionate did not meliorate the decline of sexual behavior. Neonatal MSG treatment also induced reductions of body weight in male rats, higher diurnal percentages of food and water intake in male rats than in female rats, and a decline of water-to-food ratio. These observations suggest that neonatal male rats show higher susceptibility to glutamate-induced dysfunction of sexual and ingestive behaviors than females. Our findings also suggest a sex difference in the mechanism of dysfunction of sexual behavior, i.e., decreased copulatory activity in male rats is mainly due to CNS damage, in contrast to decreased blood progesterone level in female rats.

Influence of neonatally-administered monosodium glutamate on the neuroendocrine regulation of prolactin cell activity in adult Syrian hamsters

The effects of MSG on PRL cell activity in hamsters was assessed by injecting either MSG (8 mg/g body weight) or saline into male and female hamsters on day 8 of the neonatal period. One-hundred and three days later, the anterior pituitaries were removed for the analysis of PRL synthesis and storage. Serum PRL levels were also determined by radioimmunoassay as an index of in vivo PRL secretion. Blood levels of PRL were decreased by 74% in female and 88% in male hamsters treated with MSG as compared with vehicle controls. In females, glutamate induced a drop in PRL storage (90%) and synthesis (82%) while in male animals glutamate caused a non-significant decrease in PRL storage (48%) and synthesis (31%) as compared with controls. These results indicate that MSG-induced arcuate nucleus lesions inhibit PRL cell activity in the hamster.

Reduction of pituitary GnRH receptors in immature rats treated with monosodium glutamate

The number of pituitary gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptors increases during sexual maturation in the rat and probably reflects changes in hypothalamic GnRH secretion. As GnRH is synthesized in various hypothalamic nuclei, including the arcuate nucleas (ARC), we investigated the effects of monosodium glutamate (MSG)-induced lesions of the ARC in the rat. In males and females treated with MSG during the first 10 days of life, GnRH receptor content (GnRH-RC) was unchanged from controls at 10 days but was decreased at 20 and 30 days of age (P less than 0.01). Serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) were similar in MSG-treated and control males but were significantly lower in 10-day-old females (P less than 0.01). Injections of GnRH (3 micrograms every 8 h on days 18 and 19) restored GnRH-RC to control values in MSG-treated rats. Both MSG and untreated control rats showed similar LH responses to acute injections of GnRH, but responses were attenuated (P less than 0.05) after 2 days pretreatment with GnRH in rats that had received MSG. Ovarian GnRH-RC was similar in both MSG-treated and untreated controls. These data indicate that MSG-induced lesions of the ARC reduce pituitary GnRH-RC in immature rats, and the more marked effects in females suggest a more significant role in the ARC in the control of GnRH secretion during maturation in females. The lack of MSG-induced changes in ovarian GnRH-RC indicates that GnRH from the arcuate nucleus is not responsible for the increase in ovarian GnRH receptors seen during sexual maturation.