Virtual Lab Report # ____

Title of Simulation: Endocrine

Simulation
NAME: Arunima Rajeev DATE SUBMITTED: 14/12/2021
WAVE: 14A SCORE:

This lab report is for you to reflect on what you completed and learned in this
simulation, and to practice your written scientific communication skills.

Sections

1. Describe the overall objective and make a hypothesis

2. Introduce relevant background knowledge on this topic
3. Summarize the steps taken in the simulation
4. Explain any obtained results
5. Discuss the conclusions and implications

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 1. Describe the overall objective and make a hypothesis.
What is the overall purpose of the experiments or activities? Make a hypothesis if applicable.

Hint: The purpose is often stated in the welcome message of the simulation.

* Understand hormonal feedback mechanisms

* Use physiological methods to assess fertility in males and females
* Understand how hormonal feedback mechanisms among LH, FSH progesterone
and estrogen control fertility and ovulation in females
*Understand how hormonal feedback mechanisms among LH, FSH, and
testosterone control fertility in males.

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 2. Introduce relevant background knowledge on this topic.
What have you learned in class or researched on your own that would help prepare for this
simulation?

Hint: You can review the “THEORY” section in the simulation or at https://theory.labster.com/
if you need help.

The zookeepers are discussing the possibility of keeping male and female rabbits in the
same pen to save space. They had accidents where little children set one male loose in
the female pen. Our mission is to help the two zookeepers develop an efficient and safe
hormonal contraceptive for the rabbits in the lab.
The hypothalamus and pituitary glands are connected by a blood vessel. The pituitary gland
sits next to the hypothalamus. A stimulus will cause the hypothalamus to release
gonadotropin (GnRH) hormone. The GnRH will cause the release of Follicle Stimulating
Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) in the anterior pituitary. The hormones are
then cycled in the body via blood vessels and the heart. The increase in these hormones
lead to the release of estrogen and progesterone in the ovary.High concentration of
estrogen and progesterone may trigger a positive or negative feedback in the hypothalamus
and pituitary. High concentrations of estrogen and progesterone occur just before
ovulation, which will trigger a positive feedback in both hypothalamus and pituitary gland,
increasing the concentration of LH. estrogen and progesterone. The sudden increase in LH
triggers the ovulation in humans due to a complex series of reactions. However, at any
point of the menstrual cycle other than just before ovulation, high levels of estrogen and
progesterone will trigger negative feedback. Negative feedback loops are important factors
for controlling hormonal levels. Increased levels of a steroid hormone, such as estrogen or
progesterone, will signal to the hypothalamus and the anterior pituitary to slow down their
production of GnRH LH and FSH respectively, which consequently will result in a decrease

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of the levels of estrogen and progesterone. More of the controlling hormone will decrease
the production of the controlled hormone during negative feedback. So If hormone A
causes the production of hommons B, then the increase in hormone B decreases
production of hormone A is the example of negative feedback. Gonadotropin-releasing
hormone (OrPH) is a neurohormone secreted by the hypothalamus. OnRH is carried to the
anterior pituitary giand va the hypophyseal blood vessels where it stimulates the synthesis
and secreion of FSH and LH LH and FSH are released into the bloodstream by which they
reach the gonads, stimulating the production and release of steroid sex hormones
lastrogen, progesterone or teat GnRH production is regulated by the steroid sex hormones
via nogativa and positive feedback loops. So Steroid sex nommenes suppress the secretion
of GnRH, LH, and FSH by negative feedback. Release of GnRH from the hypothalamus
stimulates the production of follicle stimulating hormone FSH to the anterior pituitary
gland. Androgens, such as testosterone, are usually higher in males but are also necessary
for the synthesis of androgens in females. Increased levels of androgens may impact the
release of GnRH from the hypothalamus via a negative feedback loop.. This leads to a
decrease in FSH production. FSH production is reduced when there's a high amount of
andragons in the blood.

we will focus on three different treatments: one with progesterone, one with testosterone
and one with gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, for short. The treatments will be
given orally to the rabbits, but we don't need to worry about preparing them. They have
already mixed them with bananas and placed them in the syringes on the workbench. We
can point at them to see what's in each syringe.
We always need to have control treatments. We need to ensure that the control treatments
contain none of the active ingredients and take into account methods such as now the
treatment is administered. To supply testosterone and progesterone we need to use
sesame to dissolve them.However, gonadotropin needs to be dissolved in physiological sale.

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 3. Summarize the steps taken in the simulation.
Explain each step you completed including the equipment and techniques you used.

Hint: You can use the “MISSION” tab in the LabPad as inspiration.

Find the lab coat and wear it . Then find the glove box and click on it to wear. THen go to
the zoo to know the problem of zookeepers and our mission. Enter the lab and understand
certain hormones. Now click that big double door over there to go to the feeding room,
downstairs. The rabbits in front of you are the ones you will test the treatments on. Today
we will focus on three different treatments: one with progesterone, one with testosterone
and one with gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, for short. The treatments will be
given orally to the rabbits, but we don't need to worry about preparing them. They have
already mixed them with bananas and placed them in the syringes on the workbench. We
can point at them to see what's in each syringe. The purpose of a control group is ensuring
that a given result is not caused by an unintended part of the experiment.When choosing a
control for an experiment, the control should test aspects of the experimental design
which might impact the result unintentionally. When creating the control, we want to
ensure the rabbit reacts differently to the hormonal treatment only, and not to the way the
treatment is administered. These rabbits were pushed through puberty over the last wook
by using estrogen injections to ensure have the same reproductive history with no former
pregnancies.
On the workdanch you will find a syringe containing a treatment for each of the rabbits.
When we have administered their first treatment, I will return them to their coges and take
care of the rest of the rabbits.They will also take care of the repeated breatments, as my
calculations show.need to be repeated daily for ten days to show any measurable effects.
Make sure to feed each rabbit with one treatment. I keep track of which it is ten what and
take care of the control treatments. First food one rabbit with treatment , Treatment 1

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contains progesterone dissolved in oil,mixed with banana. The next syringe is treatment 2.
It contains testosterone dissolved in sesame oil and mixed with bonana. Feed the rabbit.
Now feed the last rabbit with treatment 3 Which contains gonadotropin releasing hormones
dissolved in physiological saline. We will need to take blood samples from the rabbits to
measure the hormone levels in the blood. If we could take the first samples to show me
how it's done, then They can make sure to sample the blood when they do the next
treatments.
Click the door to enter the microscope room and observe the uterus.
On the screen on the workbench you can see the McPhail scale represented with images
This scale is used to score the thickness of the endometrium in the uteRUs. high number,
such as five or six, indicates a thickened endometrium, which is necessary
for the fertilized egg to settle in the uterus. A low number, zero or one, indicates a thin
endometrial layer. Compare the slides with the reference images.

WE can also define the hormonal status of the uterus using the blood from the rabbits we
collected before. To have a go at this, go to the Radioimmunoassay room, down the hallway
and to the left where you will perform a radioimmunoassay. Go to that room and to the
workbench 2.
Inorder to calculate the antigen concentrations accurately, we need to prepare a standard
curve with known concentrations of unlabelled antigens before examining the sample. First
we prepare a mixture of radioactive antigens, often we use some form of radioactive iodine.
Prepare a tubE by adding the anti-LH antibody with the pipette. Add antibodies to the
empty tubes. Add the radiolabeled LH. Then we do the same procedure with increasing
known concentrations of the antigens to create a standard curve. Then we do all the steps
again. This time we will do it with our original blood serum instead of the unlabeled
antiGEns. Add blood to the green tube. measure the radioactivity in the

Geiger counter on the workbench. Observe the graph.

GO to workbench 1 to learn About fertility in males. Understand about certain hormones

and go to feeding room. Feed the rabbits with DMAU. Go to microscope room and analyze
the effects of DMAU in the male semen. The Neubouer chamber is very similar to a
standard microscopo slido, except it has wels

nit. That allows us to precisely count the number of sperm ceis pEr militer. observe it
under a microscope. Click on the screen. WE can see a 3D representation of the sperm
cells that we have in the Neubauer chamber. I just zoomed into one of the squares that
you see on the screen.

Take a look at the holo-table to see. ANd also count the no. Of sperms.

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 4. Describe any obtained results.
Explain any obtained results. Were these results expected or unexpected?

Hint: You can use the “MEDIA” tab in the Lab Pad to find relevant images from the simulation.
You can also take screenshots while you are playing the simulation.

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Testosterone and progesterone both act to block endometrial thickening IN rabbits.
This is perhaps due to their ability to suppress LH and FSH levels by negative feedback.

It's safe to say that high testosterone did inhibit fertility, but it didn't actually make

The rabbit develops masculino traits-!

progesterone was the other hormone that limited the developmental state of the uterus

the most.
Both testosterone and progesterone vart negative feedback on LH and FSH secretion by the
anterior pituitary. testosterone and progesterone affect the LH and
FSH by negative feedback.

DMAU Mkely suppresses sperm production and motility due to negative feedback of
testosterone on LH and FSH secretion. The DMAU can be used as a potential birth control
method for males. Testosterone injections have almost the same effect as DMAU However,
high doses of testosterone have unvented side effects, such as weight gain and hair loss,
which are not seen with DMAU. Some studies have even shown that using DMAU can
potentially reduce the loss of bone-mass.
The effect of different doses of progesterone or testosterone on fertility,
health and vitality of females helps to obtain the best fertility Inhibitor for rabbits.

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The hormones we tested today are often present in both old and cutting edge hormonal

contraceptives. Some of the early experiments used progesterone and estrogen extracted

from animals, DMAU is still in an experimental phase being tested for extended usage.
Hormonal birth control is a relatively new invention compared to other forms of

contraceptives. The combined pill, or just the pill, has been widely used from crna the

1980s as a hormonal contraceptive for women. Tests began with steroid hormones as early
as the 1930s, and have continuously evolved through time into a multitude of versions that
are used by many millions of women around

the globe today. To this day, no viable mala aterativE has gained wide acceptance. DMAU is
a promising candidate, but it is still not perfected, and thus not approved for use..
Progesterone and testosterone both functioned to inhibit the fertility of the female rabbits

Additionally, DMAU worked perfectly to inhibit the fertility of male rabbits.

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 5. Discuss the conclusions and implications.
How do your results relate back to the original purpose and your hypothesis? Were there any
systematic sources of error that could have affected the results? What did you learn? What is
the importance of these findings and how can you apply them to other real world situations?

HORMONES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FERTILITY: Steroid hormones such as estrogen,

testosterone and progesterone influence the release of FSH and LH hormones from the
anterior pituitary gland. The steroid hormones can exert negative feedback on the

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hormones synthesized and secreted by the anterior pituitary gland.

GONADOTROPIN RELEASING HORMONE: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a

neurohormone secreted by the hypothalamus. GnRH is carried to the anterior pituitary
gland via the hypophyseal blood vessels where it stimulates the synthesis and secretion of
FSH and LH. LH and FSH are released into the bloodstream by which they reach the
gonads, stimulating the production and release of steroid sex hormones (estrogen,
progesterone or testosterone).
GnRH production is regulated by the steroid sex hormones via negative and positive
feedback loops.
FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE : Release of GnRH from the hypothalamus stimulates
the production of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) from the anterior pituitary gland.
FSH controls different parts of the reproductive processes in male and female individuals,
as shown in the figures below.
Androgens, such as testosterone, are usually higher in males but are also necessary for the
synthesis of estrogens in females. Increased levels of androgens may impact the release of
GnRH from the hypothalamus via a negative feedback loop. This leads to a decrease in FSH
production.

LUTEINIZING HORMONE : Luteinizing hormone (LH) is a hormone released from the anterior
pituitary gland.In females it is a part of controlling ovulation, a sudden increase in the
blood concentration can trigger ovulation in humans.In rabbits, ovulation occurs after
coitus, and not in accordance with a hormonal cycle.

DIMETHANDROLONE UNDECANOATE: Dimethandrolone undecanoate (DMAU) is an androgen

and a potential hormonal contraceptive for males. It has shown to reduce fertility in males
by reducing semen production as well as reducing the motility of the remaining
semen.DMAU reduces levels of testosterone, LH, and FSH likely by exerting similar negative
feedback as testosterone on the hypophyseal-pituitary-gonad axis.The use of DMAU has
been reported to have less adverse effects than other tested male hormonal
contraceptives. However, long term effects are still being studied.

UNDERSTOOD THE HORMONAL FEEDBACK: The body uses a variety of mechanisms to keep
hormone levels tightly regulated. A critical mechanism is using feedback loops in which a
hormone, such as estrogen, feeds back to control its own production. This can be either a
positive or a negative feedback loop.
In a negative feedback loop, a stimulus, such as a hormone or a neurotransmitter, causes
the release of a product, such as estrogen. When the product reaches a certain level in the
bloodstream, it signals to the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary to stops further release
of the stimulating hormone or neurotransmitter and thereby leads to reduced levels of the
product. For example, testosterone, progesterone and estrogen impact the hypothalamus
and anterior pituitary production of GnRH, FSH and LH, via negative feedback to reduce
their own production.
The positive feedback loop is the opposite loop. A product signals to produce more of the

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stimulating hormone or neurotransmitter which causes a continuous increase of the
product.

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