Some Effects of Photoperiod on the Pituitary/Thyroid Axis of Castrated Cockerels

Abstract

Pituitary cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase (cAMP-PK) activity ratios of castrated cockerels on a short photoperiod are highest 2 weeks after testosterone removal in castrated birds and remain high through a 3rd week. Castrated cockerels on long photoperiods have a decline in cAMP-PK activity ratios after an elevation at 1 week following testosterone removal. This is interpreted to mean that the pituitaries of cockerels on short photoperiods are sensitive to testosterone inhibition but that this sensitivity disappears in long photoperiod-stimulated birds. Long daylengths also appear to enhance thyroid activity in castrated cockerels, although thyroid cAMP-PK activity ratios increase in the thyroid of all cockerels following the removal of testosterone (castration). These results suggest that testosterone has an inhibitory effect on both the pituitary and thyroid glands.