Endocrine Abstracts

Puberty is the final stage of maturation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis and is characterized by changes in circulating gonadotropins and increased levels of sex steroids. There are both genetic and external factors (e.g. nutrition, stress) which can alter the onset of puberty. The aim of this study was to determine the onset of puberty in genetically homogeneous inbred mouse strains. Five strains were used: 129X1/SvJ, DBA/2J, C57BL/6J, CBA/CaJ and A/J. Various puber...

The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the key-structure of the control of circadian rhythms. Several observations support the view that glutamate is the primary transmitter of the retinal projection to this cell group. The glutamatergic innervation of the nucleus is not limited to this projection, it is much more extended. The aim of our investigations was (1) to examine whether are glutamatergic neurons existing in the SCN and (2) to get information about the rela...