Relation of the Adrenal and Pituitary to the Hypocholesterolemic Effect of Estrogen in Rats¹

Abstract

Subcutaneous administration of large doses of estradiol reduced serum cholesterol in both intact and adrenalectomized rats. Hypophysectomy resulted in an elevation of serum cholesterol; the hypocholesterolemic response to the estrogen was not observed in hypophysectomized or sexually immature rats. ACTH had no effect on the serum cholesterol concentration of normal or adrenalectomized rats, but partially counteracted the increase seen following hypophysectomy. The results indicate the existence of an estrogen-stimulable hypophyseal factor involved in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. (Endocrinology81: 340, 1967)