Suppression by LRH of the stimulatory effect of oestradiol on the secretion of LH by the rat pituitary gland

1987 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-496
Author(s):  
G. A. Schuiling ◽  
H. Moes ◽  
J. de Koning ◽  
T. R. Koiter

Abstract. Ovariectomized rats were infused with varying doses of luteinizing hormone-releasing-hormone (LRH). Some of the rats were also treated with oestradiol benzoate (EB). The effects of these pre-treatments on the in vitro release of luteinizing hormone (LH) were studied. The following parameters of in vitro LH release were measured: a) the autonomous secretion rate; b) the secretion rate following maximum stimulation with LRH, and c) the total quantity of LH released during the 6-hour experiment. The in vivo pre-treatments with LRH and EB dose-dependently decreased the pituitary LH content as well as all three of the above parameters of in vitro LH secretion. There was a linear relationship between the pituitary LH content and the three parameters of in vitro LH release. These parameters were therefore expressed as percentage of the pituitary LH content to give the relative LH secretion rates. The three parameters were thereby corrected for LRH/EB-induced changes in the pituitary LH content. In this way we obtained information on the effects of LRH and EB on the state of the LH release mechanisms of the gonadotropes. EB potentiated the LRH-induced depletion of the pituitary LH stores at all in vivo LRH infusion rates. The effect of EB on the quantity of LH released during perifusion in vitro, however, varied with the previous LRH infusion rates. After LRH infusion rates lower than about 120 ng/h (which establishes plasma concentrations of about 70 ng/l) EB enhanced the stimulated quantity of LH released. After higher rates of LRH infusion, EB lowered the amount of LH released. The effect of EB on the relative secretion of LH in vitro, i.e. on the LH release mechanisms, however, was positive irrespective of the prior in vivo LRH infusion rates, although the effect of EB was greater at the lower rates of LRH infusion. The effect of EB on the autonomous, in vitro, LH secretion rate was positive irrespective of the prior in vivo LRH infusion rates. The positive effect of EB on the mechanism underlying this component of LH secretion was LRH-independent. The effect of EB on the mechanism underlying the LRH-stimulated component of LH release appeared to be strongly LRH-dependent. The effect of EB was maximal if the LRH infusion rate had been lower than about 50 ng/h. With higher infusion rates it became increasingly smaller and was zero at the rate of about 180 ng/h or more. The LRH infusion rates of 50 and 180 ng/h establish plasma LRH concentrations of about 30 and 90 ng/l. Thus, the positive effect of EB on the LRH-stimulated component of LH secretion can be regulated by LRH at the plasma concentration interval of 30–90 ng/l. This study demonstrates that the 'overall' effect of EB on the LH secretion rate is determined by the 'balance' between the effect of EB on the pituitary LH content (the potentiation of the LRH-induced depletion of the LH stores) and the effect of EB on the LH release mechanisms (which effect, in the case of the LRH-stimulated component of LH secretion, can be suppressed by LRH). If the former effect dominates, the effect of EB on the secretion of LH is negative, if the latter dominates, the effect of EB is positive. The LRH concentration at which the positive effect turns into the negative effect is about 70 ng/l. We suggest that the ability of LRH and EB to influence each others' effect on the pituitary gland at physiological concentrations of the two hormones, plays a role in the regulation of the secretion of LH.

1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Schuiling ◽  
H. Moes ◽  
T. R. Koiter

Abstract. Three-weeks ovariectomized rats were sc implanted with Alzet® osmotic minipumps which released either LRH or the LRH-analogue buserelin at the rate of 250 ng/h. Control rats were implanted with a silastic 'shampump'. After explantation, 6 days later, the pituitary glands of part of these rats were exposed to the maximally active LRH concentration of 1 μg/ml for a period of 6 h. using a perifusion system. In a second group of rats explantation and perifusion was done not directly, but 5 days after cessation of the I.RH pretreatment. After 6 days in vivo pre-treatment with LRH or with buserelin the pituitary LH and FSH stores were partially depleted, the depletion after buserelin being stronger than after LRH. The pituitary glands of the first group of rats showed rates of both maximally LRH-stimulated and unstimulated (autonomous) LH- and FSH-secretion which were strongly impaired, the impairment after buserelin being stronger than after LRH. In the group with a 5 days interval between in vivo LRH/buserelin pre-treatment and explantation the pituitary LH and FSH stores were restored to the range of pre-treatment levels. Of these pituitaries the autonomous secretion of LH and FSH as well as the maximally LRH-stimulated secretion of FSH was restored to the normal level; the maximally LRH-stimulated secretion of LH, however, remained depressed, indicating that 5 days after cessation of exposure to LRH or to buserelin, and in spite of restored pituitary LH/FSH contents, the sensitivity of the LH releasing system to LRH was still subnormal. The results suggest that the autonomous secretion of LH and FSH as well as the LRH-stimulated secretion of FSH, but not the LRH-stimulated secretion of LH may be dependent on the content of the pituitary LH and FSH stores. Furthermore, after treatment with LRH or buserelin the autonomous secretion of LH may return to a normal level when the sensitivity of the LH releasing system to LRH is still impaired: apparently, the mechanisms underlying the autonomous and the LRH-stimulated LH secretion do not influence each other. It is discussed that in situations in which a complete suppression of the pituitary-gonadal axis is demanded (carcinomata of the breast or the prostate; precocious puberty) desensitization of the pituitary gland with super-active LRH-analogues like buserelin alone is not sufficient, as this does not affect the autonomous secretion of LH and FSH. For total suppression of gonadal activity the pituitary gland must be completely depleted with relatively large doses of analogue.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noboru Fujihara ◽  
Masataka Shiino

The effect of thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH, 10−7 M) on luteinizing hormone (LH) release from rat anterior pituitary cells was examined using organ and primary cell culture. The addition of TRH to the culture medium resulted in a slightly enhanced release of LH from the cultured pituitary tissues. However, the amount of LH release stimulated by TRH was not greater than that produced by luteinizing hormone – releasing hormone (LH–RH, 10−7 M). Actinomycin D (2 × 10−5 M) and cycloheximide (10−4 M) had an inhibitory effect on the action of TRH on LH release. The inability of TRH to elicit gonadotrophin release from the anterior pituitary glands in vivo may partly be due to physiological inhibition of its action by other hypothalamic factor(s).


1995 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Evans ◽  
S J Hurd ◽  
D R Mason

Abstract Although GnRH is believed to be the primary secretagogue for LH, oxytocin has also been shown to stimulate LH release from the anterior pituitary. We investigated the possibility that the two secretagogues interact in the modulation of LH release. Anterior pituitaries were removed from adult female rats at pro-oestrus, and tissue pieces were pre-incubated in oxytocin for 3 h prior to being stimulated with 15 min pulses of GnRH. LH output over the 1 h period from the beginning of the GnRH pulse was determined. Control incubations were carried out in the absence of oxytocin, and background secretory activities without GnRH stimulation were also determined. Tissue which was pre-exposed to oxytocin (0·012–1·25 μm) had an increased LH response to GnRH (1·25 nm). The increase was larger than the sum of the LH outputs obtained with oxytocin and GnRH separately, revealing that oxytocin synergistically enhanced LH secretion elicited by GnRH (P<0·05; ANOVA). If stimulation by GnRH was delayed for 2 h after incubation with oxytocin, an increase in LH secretion was still observed, indicating that oxytocin-induced modulation did not rapidly disappear. Oxytocin pre-incubation was observed to result in an increase of maximal GnRH-induced LH output (P<0·001; t-test), as well as an increase of intermediate responses. The LH response of the anterior pituitary to subsequent pulses of GnRH was modified by the self-priming process. The effect of oxytocin pretreatment on the response of primed tissue to GnRH was also investigated. It was found that pre-incubation in oxytocin also enhanced the LH response of primed tissue to GnRH. The study has revealed that oxytocin increases the LH output of anterior pituitary tissue in response to GnRH. The effect occurs on both GnRH-primed and unprimed tissues. The results suggest that oxytocin has the potential to regulate the dynamics of the pro-oestrous LH surge. Journal of Endocrinology (1995) 145, 113–119


1983 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Koiter ◽  
G. C. J. van der Schaaf-Verdonk ◽  
H. Kuiper ◽  
N. Pols-Valkhof ◽  
G. A. Schuiling

The effects of steroid-free bovine follicular fluid (bFF) and sodium phenobarbitone on spontaneous LH releasing hormone (LHRH)-induced secretion of FSH and LH were studied in ovariectomized rats. Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone was administered by infusion to rats anaesthetized with phenobarbitone. Bovine follicular fluid reduced FSH release and synthesis. Luteinizing hormone release remained unaffected after bFF treatment. Phenobarbitone reduced both FSH and LH release. The observed suppressive effects of bFF and phenobarbitone on FSH secretion were additive, suggesting that the basal release of FSH has an LHRH-dependent and an LHRH-independent component. Furthermore, bFF did not affect pituitary responsiveness of LH secretion to LHRH and reduced the responsiveness of FSH secretion only when administered some time before the LHRH challenge. The present observations support the view that in the ovariectomized rat the pituitary gland is the only site of action of inhibin-like activity as present in bFF.


1994 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Aurich ◽  
S Schlote ◽  
H-O Hoppen ◽  
E Klug ◽  
H Hoppe ◽  
...  

Abstract To investigate an involvement of endogenous opioids in the regulation of circannual changes in reproductive activity, effects of the opioid antagonist naloxone on the concentration of immunoreactive and bioactive luteinizing hormone (LH) in plasma were measured in mares during the anovulatory season. Naloxone (0·5 mg/kg i.v.) caused a significant increase (P<0·05) in immunoreactive as well as bioactive LH concentration in plasma. The amplitude of the increase in LH concentrations measured with an in vitro bioassay was more pronounced than the amplitude of the increase in LH secretion determined by radioimmunoassay. This indicates that although in seasonal anovulatory mares the bioactivity of LH in plasma is low, highly bioactive LH is present in the anterior pituitary and can be released by naloxone. The LH response to naloxone did not depend on the degree of ovarian follicular activity. It can be concluded that a tonic opioid inhibition of LH release is present in mares during at least part of the anovulatory season and that endogenous opioids seem to be involved in the regulation of seasonal reproductive activity in the horse. In contrast to the situation during the breeding season, the opioid systems regulating LH release are activated independently of luteal progesterone. Journal of Endocrinology (1994) 142, 139–144


1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Corbani ◽  
R. Counis ◽  
E. Wolinska-Witort ◽  
G. d'Angelo-Bernard ◽  
M. Moumni ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The effects of oestradiol and progesterone on LH-subunit mRNA levels were investigated in ovariectomized rats. Four weeks after ovariectomy, rats were implanted with silicone elastomer capsules containing oestradiol and/or injected daily with progesterone in oil (5 mg/rat) for 8 days. The levels of pituitary mRNA encoding α and LH-β were determined using direct hybridization with specific [32P]cDNA probes. After oestradiol implantation in ovariectomized rats, both α and LH-β mRNA decreased with time, with maximum inhibition after 6–8 days of treatment. Progesterone injected alone did not show any effect on α and LH-β mRNA. Cytosolic progesterone receptors, determined using [3H]methyl-17α-progesterone as ligand, were undectable in control ovariectomized rats. In contrast, 2 days after oestradiol implantation, the number of receptors increased to 287·5 ± 35·4 (s.e.m.) fmol/pituitary and reached a plateau of 400 ± 21·8 fmol/pituitary after 4 days. The effects of progesterone were therefore examined by first implanting ovariectomized rats with oestradiol to induce progesterone receptors and then injecting progesterone daily for a further period of 6 days. As a result of this treatment, progesterone induced a decrease in the pituitary gland contents of both α and LH-β mRNAs, and LH release was significantly greater than that observed in the group receiving oestradiol alone. Moreover, the mRNA levels in the animals treated with oestradiol plus progesterone were lower after 8 days of treatment than those observed in ovariectomized rats treated with a tenfold higher dose of oestradiol alone. These data demonstrate that progesterone, together with oestradiol, is capable of negatively regulating the mRNAs encoding subunits in vivo, provided that progesterone receptors are present in the pituitary gland.


1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 628-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fumikazu Kotsuji ◽  
Takeshi Aso ◽  
Naoyuki Kamitani ◽  
Toshiro Tominaga

Abstract. It is well recognized that weight reduction produces the suppression of serum LH but not FSH level in rodents. In order to clarify the mechanism by which the discrepancy between LH and FSH levels is brought about, the influence of weight loss on the pituitary function was explored using female rats. The changes of the pituitary response to GnRH and the basal secretion of gonadotropins with progressive weight loss were investigated by in vitro short-term incubation of the pituitary gland after prolonged weight loss in female Wistar rats. On the first day of diestrous and until day 14 of the diet, GnRH induced LH and FSH release from the pituitary and a decrease in pituitary content of them, but the total amount of gonadotropin in culture medium and pituitary tissue was not affected. On day 30 of the diet, the decrease in pituitary content disappeared. On day 60 LH release disappeared, whereas pituitary FSH and the total amount of gonadotropins were increased by GnRH. Non-stimulated FSH but not LH secretion per mg of pituitary was augmented during dieting. The data indicate that pituitary responsiveness to GnRH and non-stimulated FSH release were modified by weight loss: the LH-releasing action of GmRH was diminished, the gonadotropin-synthesizing action of GnRH was augmented, and non-stimulated FSH release was increased.


1982 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. I. Tijssen ◽  
J. de Koning ◽  
G. P. van Rees

Abstract. Pituitary glands from ovariectomized rats which had been pre-treated with oestradiol benzoate (OeB) or solvent oil were incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer with glucose containing either LRH (1000 ng/ml) or a high K+ concentration (50 mM). OeB (7 μg sc) or oil was injected at 2.5 or 6.5 h before the beginning of the incubation experiment or during the three preceding days (three daily injections). Depending upon the period during which the pituitary glands had been exposed to OeB LH release induced by LRH was inhibited (negative effect of OeB) or augmented (positive effect). When the glands were incubated in medium containing high K+, only the negative effect of OeB pre-treatment was seen. It is concluded that that part of LRH-induced LH release which is mimicked by high K+ is involved in the negative effect of OeB, but not in its positive effect.


1986 ◽  
Vol 250 (1) ◽  
pp. E62-E68 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Turgeon ◽  
D. W. Waring

Whether adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) acts as a mediator for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) in either its immediate LH release action or in its self-priming action was investigated. Pituitary pieces from either proestrous or estrous rats were superfused in vitro in the presence of dibutyryl cAMP [(Bu)2cAMP], 8-bromo-cAMP (8BrcAMP), forskolin, or control for 2-3 h. For proestrous but not estrous pituitary pieces, a slight increase in base-line LH secretion rate occurred at approximately 70 min of exposure to elevated cAMP; in the same system LHRH caused an increase in LH secretory rate within 2 min in either proestrous or estrous tissue. In contrast to its ineffectiveness as a secretagogue, cAMP elevation resulted in a severalfold augmentation of both LHRH- and elevated K+-induced LH secretion from proestrous but not estrous pituitary pieces; for these experiments, superfusion with a cAMP analogue or forskolin for varying times preceded a 10-min pulse of either 8 nM LHRH or 47 mM K+. Augmentation was evident after 30 min of cAMP elevation; longer exposures were coincident with greater potentiation. Cycloheximide prevented (Bu)2cAMP augmentation of LHRH-induced secretion. These data show that cAMP does not mediate the immediate LH release action of LHRH, but cAMP does augment LHRH- or K+-induced LH secretion with characteristics in common with the self-priming action of LHRH.


2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annett Bellmann ◽  
F. Schneider ◽  
W. Kanitz ◽  

In the following investigations, the LH secretion of cells from pituitaries in heifers on days 16-18 of their oestrous cycle (n = 14) was analysed. Cells were dissociated with trypsin and collagenase and maintained in a static culture system. For the estimation of LH release, the cells were incubated with various concentrations of mammalian GnRH (Lutrelef) for 6h. To determine the action of Antarelix (GnRH antagonist), the cells were preincubated for 1 h with concentrations of 10-5 or 10-4 M Antarelix followed by 10-6 M GnRH coincubation for a further 6h. At the end of each incubation, the medium was collected for LH analysis. Parallel, intracellular LH was qualitatively detected by immunocytochemistry. Changes in the intensity of LH staining within the cells in dependence of different GnRH concentrations were not observed, but a significant increase LH secretion in pituitary cells was measured at 10-6 M GnRH. Antarelix had no effect on basal LH secretion at concentrations of 10-4 and 10-5 M. After coincubation of pituitary cells with Antarelix and GnRH, Antarelix blocked the GnRH-stimulated LH secretion with a maximal effect of 10-4 M, but the staining of immunoreactive intracellular LH was detected at approximately the same level compared to the pituitary cells treated with exogenous GnRH alone. These data demonstrate that Antarelix is effective in influencing the GnRH-stimulated LH secretion of pituitary cells in vitro. After administration of Antarelix in vivo, the GnRH-stimulated LH secretion of cultured pituitary cells was not inhibited.


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