Effects on the secretion of reproductive hormones in adult female rats exposed to lipopolysaccharide in neonatal life

Objective To explore whether neonatal endotoxin challenge alters reproductive hormone secretion in adult female rats. Methods Rats were intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or normal saline at postnatal days 3 and 5.At Week 12, the animals underwent bilateral oophorectomy and were exposed to LPS or saline.The secretion levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol were measured. Results The LPS injection in adult neonatal saline rats caused the suppressed secretion of LH and estradiol.However, the decreased secretion of both LH and estradiol were much more apparent in adult neonatal LPS-treated rats. Conclusion The neonatal LPS challenge alters the secretions of LH and estradiol during adulthood.And the mechanism may be mediated by epigenetic programming of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Key words: Immune stress; Gonadotrophin hormone; Corticotrophin-releasing hormone