Progesterone has been shown to be thermogenic in a variety of species. The present studies investigated the role of the pituitary and thyroid glands in the thermogenic response to exogenous progesterone in 254 adult female rats. In intact rats, subcutaneous injections of 0.1 or 0.5 mg of progesterone daily for 14 days were ineffective in increasing rectal temperatures, whereas injections of 1.0, 2.0, 5.0 or 10.0 mg progesterone daily for 14 days increased rectal temperature by 0.3, 0.4, 0.4 and 0.5 C, respectively (p <0.05). Exogenous progesterone (5.0 mg daily) increased the rectal temperature of ovariectomized rats by 0.3 C (p <0.05). On the other hand, the rectal temperature of hypophysectomized rats was not increased by administration of progesterone. Thyroid acinar cell height was increased significantly from 7.4 to 9.3 μ by daily administration of 5.0 mg of progesterone to intact rats. Injection of 2-thiouracil (17.5 mg daily) lowered rectal temperature and blocked the thermogenic response to exogenous progesterone. However, thyroidectomy did not prevent the response to exogenous progesterone despite the fact that thyroidectomy alone significantly lowered rectal temperature from 35.4 to 34.7 C. These results indicate that the thyroid is not the mediator of the thermogenic response to progesterone, but that the pituitary is necessary for the response. (Endocrinology86: 717, 1970)
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Freeman et al. (1970) studied this question.