TY - JOUR
T1 - Altered pulsatile gonadotropin signaling in nutritional deficiency in the male
AU - Bergendahl, Matti
AU - Veldhuis, Johannes D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant RR-00847 (to the Clinical Research Center of the University of Virginia) and grant RCDA l-K04-HD-00634 (to J.D.V.); the Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center grant NIH DK-38942 (to J.D.V.); NIH-supported Clinfo Data Reduction Systems (to J.D.V.); l-F05 TWOO5080-01 from the Fogarty International Center (FIC), NIH (to M.B.); the University of Virginia Pratt Foundation and Academic Enhancement Program (to J.D.V.); the NSF Science Center in Biological Timing (to J.D.V.); the Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Round Lake, Illinois (to J.D.V.); the Yrjo Jahnsson Foundation (to M.B.); and the Academy of Finland (to M.B.). The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the FIC, NIH.
PY - 1995/7
Y1 - 1995/7
N2 - Reproduction cannot occur without adequate nutrition. Diets that are nutritionally inadequate delay and disrupt the pubertal development of the reproductive processes of immature experimental animals and humans, and impair the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in adults. Although there is a general understanding of the linkages between nutrition and reproduction, there is a lack of detailed knowledge of the exact mechanisms that couple these two systems. The major effects of malnutrition on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis reported in the literature are, for the most part, manifested as reduced gonadotropin secretion. Malnutrition results in decreased circulating gonadotropin concentrations. These changes in the reproductive system are associated with impaired gonadal function and subsequent secondary sex organ atrophy and lead, ultimately, to poor reproduction. Decreased hypothalamic release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) has been proposed as the most important etiologic factor for the fasting-induced suppression of pituitary-testicular function. In the human, hypogonadism and infertility develop in both sexes during chronic malnutrition. Most studies on the effects of malnutrition on the reproductive hormones have been performed in women, perhaps because malnutrition in women is promptly accompanied by amenorrhea, whereas in men hypogonadism develops gradually and becomes clinically evident only during more severe malnutrition. With the advent of sensitive assays for measuring reproductive hormones and of modern computerized methods for analyzing the pulsatile secretion of these hormones, however, the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis has been scrutinized and it has, indeed, been observed that this system is disturbed even during acute malnutrition. Here, we review the effects of malnutrition on reproductive function, especially on the pulsatile pattern of LH secretion, in humans and in experimental animals.
AB - Reproduction cannot occur without adequate nutrition. Diets that are nutritionally inadequate delay and disrupt the pubertal development of the reproductive processes of immature experimental animals and humans, and impair the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in adults. Although there is a general understanding of the linkages between nutrition and reproduction, there is a lack of detailed knowledge of the exact mechanisms that couple these two systems. The major effects of malnutrition on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis reported in the literature are, for the most part, manifested as reduced gonadotropin secretion. Malnutrition results in decreased circulating gonadotropin concentrations. These changes in the reproductive system are associated with impaired gonadal function and subsequent secondary sex organ atrophy and lead, ultimately, to poor reproduction. Decreased hypothalamic release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) has been proposed as the most important etiologic factor for the fasting-induced suppression of pituitary-testicular function. In the human, hypogonadism and infertility develop in both sexes during chronic malnutrition. Most studies on the effects of malnutrition on the reproductive hormones have been performed in women, perhaps because malnutrition in women is promptly accompanied by amenorrhea, whereas in men hypogonadism develops gradually and becomes clinically evident only during more severe malnutrition. With the advent of sensitive assays for measuring reproductive hormones and of modern computerized methods for analyzing the pulsatile secretion of these hormones, however, the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis has been scrutinized and it has, indeed, been observed that this system is disturbed even during acute malnutrition. Here, we review the effects of malnutrition on reproductive function, especially on the pulsatile pattern of LH secretion, in humans and in experimental animals.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0029058413&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0029058413&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/1043-2760(95)00081-R
DO - 10.1016/1043-2760(95)00081-R
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:0029058413
SN - 1043-2760
VL - 6
SP - 145
EP - 159
JO - Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism
JF - Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism
IS - 5
ER -