Gonadotropin-releasing hormone mRNA and gonadotropin beta-subunit mRNA expression in the adult female rat exposed to ethanol in utero.

Previous studies have demonstrated that exposure of female rats to ethanol in utero results in long-term deficits in reproductive function, including a delayed onset of puberty and an early onset of acyclicity. In the present studies, we determined if changes in reproduction are correlated with changes in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) mRNA expression in the brain or gonadotropin subunit mRNA expression in the anterior pituitary gland. We used in situ hybridization histochemical techniques to examine the density of GnRH mRNA and the distribution of GnRH mRNA-containing cells in the basal forebrain, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to quantitate the beta-subunit mRNA of luteinizing hormone (LH beta) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH beta) in the anterior pituitary gland of adult (3 months of age) fetal alcohol-exposed (FAE) female rats. For GnRH mRNA measurements, animals were gonadectomized 4 days before use. Three groups of animals were examined. FAE females were derived from pregnant dams fed a liquid diet containing 35% ethanol-derived calories from gestational day 14 until parturition. Dams of control animals were either pair-fed (PF) an isocaloric diet with sucrose substituted for ethanol or maintained on normal laboratory rat chow [chow-fed (CF)]. Serial blood samples taken by indwelling right atrial cannulae demonstrated significantly smaller pulses of LH (p < 0.05) and FSH (p < 0.05) in ovariectomized FAE females at 3 months of age, compared with PF and CF controls. Distribution of GnRH mRNA-containing cells was mapped throughout the forebrain, and the number of autoradiographic silver grains/cell was determined.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)