Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 74, 890-897, Copyright © 1992 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Developmental changes in 24-hour profiles of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone from prepuberty to midstages of puberty in boys

L Dunkel, H Alfthan, UH Stenman, G Selstam, S Rosberg and K Albertsson-Wikland
Children Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.

To establish the pubertal changes in gonadotropin secretion, 24-h secretory profiles of LH and FSH were studied in 10 healthy boys by ultrasensitive (sensitivity, 0.019 and 0.014 IU/L, respectively) time- resolved immunofluorometric assays 21 times. Five of the 10 boys were sampled on 2-6 occasions over a time interval of 0.95-6.4 yr. When sampled, 6 boys were prepubertal (testicular volume, less than 3 mL), 8 boys were early pubertal (testicular volume, 3-5 mL), and 7 boys were midpubertal (testicular volume, 10-25 mL). Plasma was taken every 20 min for 24 h. All boys had LH and FSH pulses. In prepuberty, the mean LH level was much lower than the mean FSH level, and neither showed significant diurnal variation. In early puberty, the mean LH level increased much more than that of FSH. For LH, the increase in mean levels was due to an increase in both pulse amplitude and frequency. During early and midpuberty, these changes were most marked at night, leading to the appearance of diurnal variation. For FSH, the mean levels increased progressively from prepuberty to midpuberty, with a slight increase in the mean pulse amplitude at the onset of puberty, whereas no change in pulse frequency was found. In contrast to LH, no diurnal variation was found for FSH at any of the pubertal stages. Thus, at the onset of puberty, gonadotropin secretion undergoes specific changes, which are different for LH and FSH, involving changes in pulse amplitudes and frequencies and development of diurnal variation for LH.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J.D. Alvarez, A. Hansen, T. Ord, P. Bebas, P. E. Chappell, J. M. Giebultowicz, C. Williams, S. Moss, and A. Sehgal The Circadian Clock Protein BMAL1 Is Necessary for Fertility and Proper Testosterone Production in Mice J Biol Rhythms, February 1, 2008; 23(1): 26 - 36. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Aksglaede, A. Juul, H. Leffers, N. E. Skakkebaek, and A.-M. Andersson The sensitivity of the child to sex steroids: possible impact of exogenous estrogens Hum. Reprod. Update, July 1, 2006; 12(4): 341 - 349. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Mitamura, K. Yano, N. Suzuki, Y. Ito, Y. Makita, and A. Okuno Diurnal Rhythms of Luteinizing Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, and Testosterone Secretion before the Onset of Male Puberty J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., January 1, 1999; 84(1): 29 - 37. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				K. J. Suter, C. R. Pohl, and T. M. Plant The Pattern and Tempo of the Pubertal Reaugmentation of Open-Loop Pulsatile Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Release Assessed Indirectly in the Male Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta) Endocrinology, June 1, 1998; 139(6): 2774 - 2783. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. A. Clark, A. Iranmanesh, J. D. Veldhuis, and A. D. Rogol Comparison of Pulsatile Luteinizing Hormone Secretion Between Prepubertal Children and Young Adults: Evidence for a Mass/Amplitude-Dependent Difference Without Gender or Day/Night Contrasts J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., September 1, 1997; 82(9): 2950 - 2955. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-P. Bourguignon, J. Jaeken, A. Gerard, and F. de Zegher Amino Acid Neurotransmission and Initiation of Puberty: Evidence from Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia in a Female Infant and Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Secretion by Rat Hypothalamic Explants J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 1997; 82(6): 1899 - 1903. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Albertsson-Wikland, S. Rosberg, B. Lannering, L. Dunkel, G. Selstam, and E. Norjavaara Twenty-Four-Hour Profiles of Luteinizing Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, Testosterone, and Estradiol Levels: A Semilongitudinal Study throughout Puberty in Healthy Boys J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., February 1, 1997; 82(2): 541 - 549. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]