Abstract
TRH-like immunoreactivity (TRH-LI) was estimated in methanolic extracts of rat tissues and blood by RIA using antiserum 4319, which binds most peptides with the structure pGlu-X-ProNH2, or antiserum 8880, which is specific for TRH (pGlu-His-ProNH2). TRH-LI (determined with antiserum 4319) and TRH (determined with antiserum 8880) contents were 8 and 8 ng/g in brain, 216 and 222 ng/g in hypothalamus, 6·5 and 6 ng/g in pancreas, 163 and 116 ng/g in male pituitary, 105 and 77 ng/g in female pituitary, 1 and 0·1 ng/g in salivary gland, 61 and 42 ng/g in thyroid, 12 and 3 ng/g in adrenal, 3 and 0·3 ng/g in prostate, and 11 and 0·8 ng/g in ovary respectively. Blood TRH-LI (antiserum 4319) and TRH (antiserum 8880) levels were 31 and 18 pg/ml in male rats, and 23 and 10 pg/ml in female rats respectively. Unextracted serum obtained from blood kept for at least 1 h at room temperature no longer contained authentic TRH but still contained TRH-LI (males 20·3 ± 3·1, females 15·9 ± 3·0 pg/ml; means ± s.e.m.). Isocratic reverse-phase HPLC showed that TRH-LI in serum is largely pGlu-Glu-ProNH2 (<EEP-NH2), a peptide previously found in prostate and anterior pituitary.
In urine, TRH-LI (antiserum 4319) and TRH (antiserum 8880) levels were 3·21 ± 0·35 and 0·32 ± 0·04 ng/ml in male rats and 3·75 ± 0·22 and 0·37 ± 0·04 ng/ml in female rats respectively (means ± s.e.m.). Anion-exchange chromatography on QAE-Sephadex showed that urine of normally fed rats contains both basic/neutral TRH-LI (b/nTRH-LI) and acidic TRH-LI (aTRH-LI) in a ratio of ≈ 40:60, and further analysis by HPLC indicated that aTRH-LI represents <EEP-NH2. Analysis of food extracts and urine from fasted rats demonstrated that b/nTRH-LI is derived from food particles spilled by the rats during urine collection, while aTRH-LI is endogenously produced. While urinary aTRH-LI levels were higher in female than in male rats (2·99 ± 0·41 vs 2·04 ± 0·20 ng/ml), the daily urinary excretion was similar in both sexes (females 15·6 ± 1·4, males 19·5 ± 2·0 ng/day). Intravenously injected <EEP-NH2 disappeared from serum with a half-life of ≈ 1 h, and was recovered unchanged and quantitatively in urine. In contrast, when <EEP-NH2 was administered with food, only ≈ 0·5% was recovered in urine. The urinary clearance rate of serum TRH-LI amounted to 0·52 ± 0·10 ml/min in males and 0·34 ± 0·05 ml/min in females.
In view of the presence of <EEP-NH2 in the anterior pituitary gland, and the regulation of its content in parallel with gonadotrophins, we examined the possibility that serum <EEP-NH2 is of pituitary origin and correlates with gonadotrophin secretion. However, treatments that alter pituitary <EEP-NH2 content and gonadotrophin release had no effect on serum TRH-LI or urinary aTRH-LI.
In conclusion, the TRH-like peptide <EEP-NH2 is present in rat serum and is excreted into the urine. Moreover, <EEP-NH2 in serum and urine is not derived from rat food and is probably not of pituitary origin.
Journal of Endocrinology (1997) 153, 411–421
Effects of castration, sex steroids, LHRH and glucocorticoids on LHRH binding in the anterior pituitary of male rats