Acute re-feeding reverses food restriction-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis deficits

Undernutrition has well-established effects on female reproduction. Here we describe the effects of food restriction on aspects of the hypothalamic-pi tuitary-gonadal (HPC) axis in the female musk shrew. We determined that acu te re-feeding reverses deficits brought on by food restriction. Two days of food restriction led to an increase in proGnRH immunoreactive cells in the preoptic area relative to ad libitum-fed controls (AL). This increase was reversed by 90 min of ad libitum feeding in the refed females (RF). In addi tion, food-restricted (FR) females had significantly greater GnRH content i n the median eminence than either the AL or RF females. After GnRH was admi nistered, the majority of females in all food conditions ovulated, yet the FR females had significantly fewer corpora lutea than either the AL or RF a nimals. These data show that food restriction impairs HPC axis function in female musk shrews, and that some of these impairments can be rapidly rever sed by acute re-feeding.