Starter Grant: Role of Photoperiod, the Pineal Gland, and Melatonin on Compensatory Gonadal Hypertrophy in the Marsh Rice Rat (Oryzomys Palustris)

本研究的目的是研究光周期、昼夜节律系统、褪黑激素、松果体和食物摄入在调节生殖光周期啮齿动物沼泽稻鼠（Oryzomys palustris）代偿性腺肥大（CGH）的作用。代偿性性腺肥大的结果是，当手术切除一个性腺时，剩余性腺的大小会急剧增加。研究将对半阉割的雄性和雌性沼泽稻鼠进行，饲养在不同的光周期制度或褪黑激素治疗条件下。埃德蒙兹博士还将通过“共振”实验来研究昼夜节律系统介导CGH的程度。由于CGH仅在啮齿动物的实验室菌株中进行过研究，因此这项工作对于发现光周期对CGH的影响具有重要意义。这项工作的结果可能为CGH的潜在机制和褪黑激素治疗对CGH过程的可能影响提供见解。

Lay Abstract EDMONDS, Kent 98-128224 The goals of the proposed studies are to examine the roles of photoperiod, the circadian system, melatonin, the pineal gland, and food intake in regulating the magnitude of compensatory gonadal hypertrophy (CGH) in a reproductively photoperiodic rodent, the marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris). Compensatory gonadal hypertrophy results when the surgical removal of one gonad produces a dramatic increase in the size of the remaining gonad. Studies will be conducted on hemi-castrated male and female marsh rice rats housed under different photoperiodic regimes, or melatonin treatment conditions. Dr. Edmunds will also examine the extent to which CGH is mediated by the circadian system by conducting "resonance" experiments. Because CGH has only been studied in laboratory strains of rodents, this work is important to discover the effects of photoperiod on CGH. The results of this work may provide insights into the mechanisms underlying CGH and the possible ramifications of melatonin treatment on CGH processes.