The effects of cerebral hemidecortication on the eruption rate and uptake of [3H]-glycine by the periodontal ligament of the rat incisor.

Hemidecortication, which consists of removing one cerebral hemisphere, leaving intact the thalamus and hypothalamus, affects the hypothalamus-hypophyseal axis producing hypothyroidism. Hemidecorticate rats showed a significant decrease in the weekly eruption rate of the upper incisors and partial recovery after the administration of thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH). The uptake of [3H]-glycine, 1 and 4 h after a single injection, shown by radioautography, was 25 to 50 per cent higher in the periodontal ligament of the experimental animals. Most of the labelled material was non-collagenous proteins because only 20 to 30 per cent was removed by collagenase.