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,**2
Departments of
*
Physiology and
Surgery, and
**
The Cardiovascular Sciences Collaborative Program, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M5S 1A8
2To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail: c.wittnich{at}utoronto.ca.
| ABSTRACT |
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KEY WORDS: gender food consumption growth 17ß-estradiol tamoxifen rats
| INTRODUCTION |
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Selective estrogen receptor modulators
(SERM),3
such as tamoxifen and nafoxidine, have also been shown to affect body
growth (6
,7)
. Moon et al. (8)
showed that
tamoxifen decreased growth rates and prevented the decrease in bone
density in female rats neutered at the age of sexual maturity. How
tamoxifen alters the pattern of weight gain and food consumption in
neutered females from puberty to adulthood has not been determined.
This study was conducted to document the weekly profile of the effect
of male and female sex hormones on weight gain and food intake of rats
throughout the developmental stages, and to determine whether these
effects are transitory or sustained. In addition, the effect of
tamoxifen in neutered females was studied.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Study 1.
At 1721 d of age, female rats were randomly allocated to be either
sham-operated (Sham, n = 9) or surgically
neutered via bilateral ovariectomy (Neut, n = 17),
leaving the uterus intact. A subgroup of these neutered females were
given estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) with 17ß-estradiol
(n = 9) for a total of 120 d of treatment,
using slow-release pellets (1.7 mg estradiol, Innovative Research
of America, Sarasota, FL) implanted subcutaneously every 60 d,
beginning at 8 wk of age (9)
. Sham rats underwent the
identical implantation procedure but received no pellet. Overall, there
were three groups of females, i.e., intact, neutered and neutered
receiving ERT. Age-matched males were either surgically neutered
via castration (Neut, n = 10) or were
sham-operated (Sham, n = 8), for a total of two
groups of males.
Study 2.
As in Study 1, female WKY rats were allocated to be either
sham-operated (Sham, n = 7) or neutered (Neut,
n = 13) at 1721 d of age. A subgroup of these
neutered females were given hormone replacement with the same dose of
17ß-estradiol used in Study 1 (ERT, n = 5) or
tamoxifen (Tam, n = 4) using slow-release
pellets (5 mg/pellet, Innovative Research of America) implanted
subcutaneously every 60 d as in Study 1 (8)
. ERT or
tamoxifen treatment began at 12 wk of age in Study 2, 4 wk later than
in Study 1. This is well into the postpuberty period in rats
(10)
. In rats surgically neutered or neutered and given
hormone replacement using this protocol, plasma levels of
17ß-estradiol were undetectable in neutered females (<20 pmol/L),
whereas intact females (85 ± 22 pmol/L) and neutered females
receiving ERT (65 ± 15 pmol/L) had similar levels
(P > 0.2). Neutered female rats receiving
tamoxifen had undetectable (<20 pmol/L) plasma 17ß-estradiol. Plasma
testosterone levels were 4 ± 2 nmol/L in intact males. Plasma
17ß-estradiol and testosterone were measured using commercial RIA
kits (ICN Biomedicals, Costa Mesa, CA). All rats in both studies
underwent the assessments detailed below.
Assessments.
Once each week, body weight (BW) of all rats from both studies was
measured between the hours of 0900 and 1000 h. The amount of food
consumed per week was determined by providing a measured quantity of
food in excess of weekly requirements, and subtracting the amount
remaining the next week. Food consumed per day per gram metabolic
weight (BW0.67) was also calculated (11
,12)
.
The slope of the weekly growth curves for both male and female rats was
determined for the weeks before initiation of ERT and for the weeks
after treatment as well. At the appropriate age, rats were killed by an
overdose of anesthetic (Inactin; Research Biochemicals International,
Natick, MA). Completeness of neutering was confirmed post mortem by the
absence of ovaries and testes. In all groups of females, the uterus was
removed and weighed, and the ratio of uterus/BW (mg/g) was determined.
All data are expressed as means ± SEM. Data were analyzed using univariate repeated-measures ANOVA, with Duncans multiple range test post hoc. Students t test was used to analyze differences in slopes of growth curves between neutered and sham-operated males, and for neutered and sham-operated females before the initiation of treatment. One-way ANOVA with Scheffés test post hoc was used to analyze differences in slopes of post-treatment growth curves, uterus weight and uterus/BW ratio among females. All statistics were calculated using the Statistical Analysis System (version 7; SAS Institute, Cary, NC). For all tests, statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05.
| RESULTS |
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Uterus weight and uterus/BW ratios in neutered females were >90%
smaller than those of sham-operated females and neutered females
receiving ERT (Table 1
). There was no significant difference in these variables between
sham-operated females and neutered females receiving ERT.
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Both sham-operated and neutered males showed increases in food
consumption with age, although neutered males consumed 14% less than
sham-operated males after wk 6 (Fig. 2
A, P
< 0.0001). In contrast, both sham-operated and neutered
females showed a much more blunted increase in food consumption,
which was not significantly different after wk 6 (P = 0.45).
There was no difference in food consumption normalized to metabolic
weight between sham-operated males and neutered males at any age
(P = 0.15), although neutered males always consumed
less. Food consumption in both groups of males increased with time,
which tended to be blunted by neutering (P > 0.05;
Fig. 2
C). There were no differences in normalized food
consumption between sham-operated and neutered females at any age
(P = 0.07), and the very modest rate of increase across
time tended to be blunted by neutering (Fig. 2
D).
Growth curves for males and females for wk 822 are shown in
Figures 3A
and
B, respectively. Week 8 values are included to enable comparison of
pre-ERT data with post-ERT data. ERT of one group of neutered
females was initiated immediately after assessment at wk 8. Both
neutered and sham-operated males had rapid rates of growth until wk
12, followed by a slower but continued increase in weight (Fig. 3
A). Neutered males had 7% lower BW than sham-operated
males throughout this period (P < 0.0001). A dramatic
decrease in the rate of growth occurred after wk 12. For wk 812,
similar slopes were found in sham-operated (19.3 ± 0.5 g/wk)
and neutered (19.0 ± 0.8 g/wk, P = 0.7) males.
From wk 13 to 22, the slopes of the growth curves of neutered (5.1
± 0.2 g/wk) and sham-operated (6.0 ± 0.5 g/wk) males
decreased by 73 and 69% vs. wk 812, respectively.
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Neutered males consumed
10% less food than sham-operated males
from 8 to 22 wk (P = 0.34) (Fig. 4A
). Neutered females receiving ERT consumed significantly less food than
both sham-operated and neutered females throughout this period
(Fig. 4
B). Interestingly, weekly food consumption in the
neutered females receiving ERT showed a dramatic 17% reduction
immediately after initiation of hormone replacement, which returned to
more stable levels by wk 12 (P < 0.05). No such drop
in food consumption occurred in sham-operated or neutered females,
and both showed further increases by wk 10 (P < 0.05).
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Study 2.
Study 2 examined the effects of hormones on the growth and food
consumption of females with hormone replacement beginning 4 wk later
than in Study 1. The effects of the estrogen receptor antagonist
tamoxifen were also examined. As in Study 1, neutered females had
significantly lower uterus weight and uterus/BW ratios than both
sham-operated females and neutered females receiving ERT
(Table 2
). Neutered females receiving tamoxifen had uterus weights that were
>75% lower than that of both sham-operated females and ERT
females. Similar results were seen for uterus/BW ratios. Interestingly,
when compared with neutered females, those receiving tamoxifen tended
to have heavier uterus weights and uterus/BW ratios (P
> 0.05).
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20% larger than both sham-operated females and
neutered females receiving tamoxifen (P < 0.0001), and
>30% larger than neutered females undergoing ERT (P
< 0.0001). Body weights in both groups of treated females (ERT,
tamoxifen) showed only modest changes over time. Immediately after
initiation of treatment, neutered females receiving ERT had an 8% drop
in weight, so that neutered females receiving tamoxifen were 816%
larger than neutered females receiving ERT throughout the entire period
to age 28 wk (P < 0.0001). Interestingly, neutered
females receiving tamoxifen had no further weight gain; thus, there was
no significant difference (P > 0.05) from
sham-operated females throughout the period of treatment.
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15% lower
normalized food consumption compared with sham-operated females
(P < 0.0001), and this was also generally lower than
values seen in ERT females (P < 0.05 for wk 16). All
four groups of females had
20% reductions in normalized food
consumption over time. | DISCUSSION |
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Interestingly, data from the current study show that neutered males
gained weight faster than neutered females, although by a smaller
degree than occurred in intact animals. Thus, in both intact and
neutered male rats, body weight increased at a greater rate than in
females. This may be related to gender differences in the pattern of
growth hormone secretion (13
14
15)
. Evidence from the
present study shows that the gonadal steroid hormones exert a
modulating influence on this growth because the absence of testosterone
lowered the maximal weight achieved but did not prevent steady
increases, whereas the absence of estrogen significantly increased
weight, an effect immediately attenuated by estradiol replacement. This
effect was seen regardless of the age at which estradiol replacement
was initiated.
Alterations in body composition have been documented to occur in
neutered females, which may contribute to the alterations in weight.
For example, female rats neutered at 28 d of age showed a higher
water content but no change in whole-body fat at the age of 15 wk,
although fat was redistributed to increased skin fat compared with
control rats (1)
. More recently, a cross-sectional
study that examined healthy women aged 1875 y showed that
postmenopausal women had significantly higher fat content and lower
lean tissue mass than premenopausal women (16)
. These
alterations in body composition presumably occurred in the present
study, and may partially account for the different growth patterns
observed in the female rats, ultimately contributing to the greater
body weight in neutered females.
Results from the current study show that neutered females receiving
estradiol replacement had significantly lower body weights than
neutered females and sham-operated females. Interestingly,
immediately after the initiation of ERT, food consumption normalized to
metabolic weight was comparable to that of sham-operated females,
whereas that of neutered females was significantly lower than that of
the other groups. This suggests that the neutered females were either
expending less energy than the others, or were more efficient at
utilizing food energy. The hypophagic effects of estrogen are well
established in a variety of species (3)
. Recently,
estrogen was found to augment the hypophagic effects of cholecystokinin
in female rats, suggesting that its actions are targeted in the
hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (4)
. Results from the
current study suggest that although absolute food intakes were lower in
females administered estrogen, when food intake was normalized to
metabolic weight, food consumption was similar to that of
sham-operated females. This suggests that although estrogen induces
an overall reduction in food consumption, this is proportional to the
reduction in body weight.
Study 2 was conducted to determine whether hormone replacement in neutered females would have a similar effect when initiated well into the adult age, and to assess the effect of treatment of neutered females with the SERM tamoxifen. Before the initiation of hormone replacement (12 wk of age), neutered females were significantly larger than intact females, and grew at a faster rate, as shown by the >30% steeper growth curve. This is comparable to the difference in slopes observed in Study 1 before the onset of treatment. With the onset of ERT, neutered females reached an immediate and sustained plateau in body weight as occurred in Study 1. Thus, the timing of the onset of estradiol replacement in female rats neutered before puberty does not influence the effects of estradiol on body growth. Also as occurred in Study 1, neutered females receiving estradiol had normalized food consumption similar to that of intact females. Interestingly, neutered females receiving tamoxifen also reached an immediate plateau in body weight after the initiation of treatment, at levels comparable to intact females. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the estrogen-like effects of tamoxifen on weekly weight changes and food consumption. However, tamoxifen appears to be less potent than estradiol because neutered females receiving estradiol had significantly lower body weights than those receiving tamoxifen, who were comparable to sham-operated females. Neutered females receiving tamoxifen and neutered females receiving estradiol had generally similar food consumption, although tamoxifen-treated females consumed somewhat less than the group receiving estradiol, which was significant only at wk 16. This suggests that tamoxifen exerts a weaker effect on nutrition than estradiol because ERT and sham-operated females had similar normalized food consumption.
Tamoxifen is a potent nonsteroidal antiestrogenic agent utilized in the
treatment of estrogen-responsive breast cancer, and has been
suggested as a preventative agent in the development of this disease.
However, it has also been shown to act as an estrogen agonist in other
tissues, including the skeleton and cardiovascular system
(17)
. Previous studies have shown that daily subcutaneous
administration of tamoxifen to female rats neutered postpuberty
prevented weight gain with increasing age compared with intact
controls, similar to the effects of daily estradiol (7)
.
This was associated with a significant reduction in body length and
daily food intake. Results from the current study support this latter
finding because food consumption was 10% lower than that of intact
females. The tissue selective action of tamoxifen in the current study
is illustrated by the uterus data. The uterus weight and uterus/BW
ratio in neutered rats receiving tamoxifen generally were greater than
those of neutered females, by as much as 36 and 54%, but were
significantly lower than in females receiving estradiol. This suggests
that tamoxifen had a modest estrogenic effect on the rat uterus.
Similar results were reported by Kalu et al. (18)
. This is
in contrast with previous studies showing that in neutered female
Wistar rats, daily oral tamoxifen did not increase uterine weight
compared with untreated neutered females (19)
. Differences
between studies showing an estrogenic effect of tamoxifen in the
uterus, including the present study, and those showing no such effect
may be related to strain differences because identical doses (0.4
mg/kg) were used in the Kalu and Kafkasli studies. Results from the
present study suggest that in neutered female WKY rats, in which plasma
steroid levels are expected to be low, tamoxifen has an estrogenic
effect on both body and uterus weight.
This study demonstrates that in male and female rats, weight gain and food consumption are modulated by sex hormones. Estrogen appears to have a greater effect than testosterone because neutering had a larger effect on body weight in females, and estrogen replacement immediately halted any further weight gain, irrespective of the age at which it was given. This cessation of weight gain was sustained throughout the period of treatment. The SERM tamoxifen also immediately reduced body weight, but was less potent than estrogen. Differences in food consumption do not appear to account for the effects of hormones and tamoxifen on body weight because there were no significant differences in food consumption between sham-operated animals and those receiving hormone replacement, despite significant differences in body weight. Thus, nutritional requirements are altered by hormone status.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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3 Abbreviations used: BW, body weight; ERT,
estrogen replacement therapy; Neut, surgically neutered males/females;
SERM, selective estrogen receptor modulator; Sham, sham-operated; Tam,
neutered + tamoxifen; WKY, Wistar-Kyoto rats. ![]()
Manuscript received September 5, 2000. Initial review completed November 16, 2000. Revision accepted May 24, 2001.
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