This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mitamura, R. Articles by Okuno, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mitamura, R. Articles by Okuno, A.

Diurnal Rhythms of Luteinizing Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, and Testosterone Secretion before the Onset of Male Puberty¹

Department of Pediatrics, Asahikawa Medical College, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Ryo Mitamura, M.D., Shimizu Red Cross Hospital, Minami 2–2, Shimizu-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido 089-0195, Japan.

To investigate hormonal change before the onset of male puberty, we measured LH and FSH in serum samples drawn every 20 min for 24 h and measured testosterone hourly for 24 h. Forty-six boys (32 prepubertal and 14 pubertal) of short stature, between 4.4–19.3 yr of age, participated in this study. LH and FSH were measured using a time-resolved immunofluorometric assay, and testosterone was measured using high sensitivity RIA capable of detecting a testosterone concentration of 0.01 ng/mL.

Diurnal rhythms of LH, FSH, and testosterone were apparent in all subjects, including those aged 4–5 yr. Serum LH and FSH concentrations showed night-day variation in a pulsatile fashion. The serum testosterone concentration was elevated at early morning in all subjects. Mean 24-h LH, FSH, and testosterone concentrations of prepubertal subjects who did not attain puberty for at least 3 yr were 0.10 U/L, 0.63 U/L, and 0.06 ng/mL, respectively, whereas those of prepubertal subjects who attained puberty within 1 yr (0.54 U/L, 1.68 U/L, and 0.10 ng/mL, respectively) were significantly higher. Furthermore, mean 24-h LH, FSH, and testosterone concentrations increased with developing puberty. All of the 46 subjects showed positive cross-correlation between the LH and testosterone time series. The mean lag time from the LH to the testosterone time series in the prepubertal subjects who attained puberty within 1 yr (4.7 ± 2.4 h, mean ± SD) was shorter than that in the prepubertal subjects who attained puberty after at least 3 yr (7.3 ± 2.2 h). This lag time decreased with developing puberty, plateauing at 1.4 ± 0.9 h at midpuberty.

Thus, the diurnal rhythms of LH, FSH, and testosterone already exist at 4–5 yr of age; serum LH, FSH, and testosterone levels increase before the onset of puberty; and a time delay is observed between the LH and testosterone time series that decreases before the onset of puberty.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Z Hochberg Juvenility in the context of life history theory Arch. Dis. Child., June 1, 2008; 93(6): 534 - 539. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P.-J. He, M. Hirata, N. Yamauchi, S. Hashimoto, and M.-a. Hattori The disruption of circadian clockwork in differentiating cells from rat reproductive tissues as identified by in vitro real-time monitoring system J. Endocrinol., June 1, 2007; 193(3): 413 - 420. [Abstract] [Full Text] [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]

				J. Axelsson, M. Ingre, T. Akerstedt, and U. Holmback Effects of Acutely Displaced Sleep on Testosterone J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 2005; 90(8): 4530 - 4535. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S Ramaswamy, C R Pohl, G R Marshall, and T M Plant A switch from continuous to episodic testicular testosterone release in response to pulsatile LH stimulation in juvenile rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) J. Endocrinol., October 1, 2004; 183(1): 61 - 68. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. L. Bittman, L. Doherty, L. Huang, and A. Paroskie Period gene expression in mouse endocrine tissues Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, September 1, 2003; 285(3): R561 - R569. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Q. He, M. Horlick, J. Thornton, J. Wang, R. N. Pierson Jr., S. Heshka, and D. Gallagher Sex and Race Differences in Fat Distribution among Asian, African-American, and Caucasian Prepubertal Children J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2002; 87(5): 2164 - 2170. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H.-P. E. Larsen, J. Thorup, L. T. Skovgaard, D. Cortes, and A. G. Byskov Long-term cultures of testicular biopsies from boys with cryptorchidism: effect of FSH and LH on the number of germ cells Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2002; 17(2): 383 - 389. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. M. Plant and G. R. Marshall The Functional Significance of FSH in Spermatogenesis and the Control of Its Secretion in Male Primates Endocr. Rev., December 1, 2001; 22(6): 764 - 786. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. R. Palmert and P. A. Boepple Variation in the Timing of Puberty: Clinical Spectrum and Genetic Investigation J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 2001; 86(6): 2364 - 2368. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Luboshitzky, Z. Zabari, Z. Shen-Orr, P. Herer, and P. Lavie Disruption of the Nocturnal Testosterone Rhythm by Sleep Fragmentation in Normal Men J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 2001; 86(3): 1134 - 1139. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				E. Terasawa and D. L. Fernandez Neurobiological Mechanisms of the Onset of Puberty in Primates Endocr. Rev., February 1, 2001; 22(1): 111 - 151. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				J. D. Veldhuis, S. M. Pincus, R. Mitamura, K. Yano, N. Suzuki, Y. Ito, Y. Makita, and A. Okuno Developmentally Delimited Emergence of More Orderly Luteinizing Hormone and Testosterone Secretion during Late Prepuberty in Boys J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., January 1, 2001; 86(1): 80 - 89. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				S. Ramaswamy, T. M. Plant, and G. R. Marshall Pulsatile Stimulation with Recombinant Single Chain Human Luteinizing Hormone Elicits Precocious Sertoli Cell Proliferation in the Juvenile Male Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta) Biol Reprod, July 1, 2000; 63(1): 82 - 88. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				R. Mitamura, K. Yano, N. Suzuki, Y. Ito, Y. Makita, and A. Okuno Diurnal Rhythms of Luteinizing Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, Testosterone, and Estradiol Secretion before the Onset of Female Puberty in Short Children J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 2000; 85(3): 1074 - 1080. [Abstract] [Full Text]