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Studies on a high molecular weight luteinizing hormone release stimulating factor of the ovine pineal gland

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Summary

Former work has shown that crude extracts of ovine pineal glands probably exert a stimulating activity on the release of gonadotropins of anterior pituitaries in vitro. By aqueous extraction followed by ultrafiltration through anisotropic membranes high Mr (above 100,000 daltons) fractions were obtained, which exhibit a stimulating effect on the levels of gonadotropins in the medium of either cultured pituitary cells or anterior hemipituitaries in shortterm culture. Partial purification of a pineal luteinizing hormone release stimulating factor was accomplished by Sephadex G-150 filtration with a biopotency of 226±23 ug LH-RP-1 equivalents per mg protein and without an affinity for binding to anti-LHRH or anti-LH antibodies. The present data substantiate that high Mr forms, slightly heavier than authentic pituitary LH (Mr 23,000 daltons) and therefore not identical to the hypothalamic decapeptide LH-RH, represent ovine pineal factors which can increase the concentration of LH in the medium of cultured anterior pituitaries, but does not influence the secretion of prolactin in vitro.

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Author notes

  1. H. P. J. M. Noteborn

    Present address: Department of Experimental Chemotherapie, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, NL-1066, CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    H. P. J. M. Noteborn, G. A. Ramakers, I. Ebels & C. A. Salemink

  2. INSERM, Unité 156, Lille, France

    A. Slama-Scémama

  3. Department of Pharmacology, University of Leiden, Leiden

    J. de Koning

  4. Division of Chemical Endocrinology, Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    F. H. de Jong

Authors
  1. H. P. J. M. Noteborn
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  2. A. Slama-Scémama
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  3. J. de Koning
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  4. F. H. de Jong
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  5. G. A. Ramakers
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  6. I. Ebels
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  7. C. A. Salemink
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Additional information

Supported in part by the Netherlands Foundation for Medical Research (FUNGO) with the financial aid from the Netherlands Organisation for the Advancement of Pure Research (ZWO, grant No 13-35-33).

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Noteborn, H.P.J.M., Slama-Scémama, A., de Koning, J. et al. Studies on a high molecular weight luteinizing hormone release stimulating factor of the ovine pineal gland. J. Neural Transmission 72, 19–36 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01244629

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01244629

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