Comparative effects of food restriction, fasting, diabetes and thyroidectomy on growth hormone and thyrotropin gene expression in the rat pituitary
Rodriguez M, Rodriguez F, Jolin T, Santisteban P. Comparative effects of food restriction, fasting, diabetes and thyroidectomy on growth hormone and thyrotropin gene expression in the rat pituitary. Eur J Endocrinol 1995;133:110–6. ISSN 0804–4643 To examine the molecular basis for the decreased pituitary growth hormone (GH) and thyrotropin (TSH) content during restricted feeding, fasting and diabetes, we measured steady-state levels of mRNA for TSH-α TSH-β and GH in the pituitary from normal rats either fed ad libitum (C), limited to 75%, 50% and 25% (FR75, FR50, FR25, respectively) of ad libitum intake, or deprived of food for 2 and 4 days (F2 and F4, respectively), and also in streptozotocin-diabetic (D) and D insulin-treated animals. The results from these experimental groups were compared with those in thyroidectomized (Tx) rats. Pituitary mRNA was quantified by Northern blot hybridization with cDNA probes specific for rat TSH-α, TSH-β and GH. Although changes in the pituitary GH mRNA during restricted feeding, fasting and diabetes were similar qualitatively to those induced by hypothyroidism, GH mRNA levels in Tx rats (> 10% of C values) were less than in the other experimental groups (p < 0.001). Pituitaries from FR50, FR25 and D rats also contained less GH mRNA than F2 and F4 animals (p < 0.05). Thyroidectomy resulted in a marked increase in both TSH-β and TSH-α mRNAs, the changes in TSH-β mRNA being greater than those in TSH-α mRNA. In contrast, FR50, FR2 5, F2, F4 and D rats exhibited a decrease in pituitary TSH-β mRNA (60%, 50%, 35%, 36% and 33%, respectively, of C values; p < 0.01–0.05) and in TSH-α mRNA levels (81%, 64%, 46%, 43% and 36%, respectively, of normal values; p < 0.02–0.05), TSH-β mRNA showing the greater changes. However, pituitaries from F2, F4 and D rats contained less TSH-β and TSH-α mRNA levels than FR50 and FR25 animals (p < 0.05). Insulin therapy partially restored the changes in mRNA for GH, TSH-β and TSH-α observed in D rats. In addition, the pituitary nuclear triiodothyronine in Tx, FR50, FR25, F2, F4 and D rats was reduced to 19%, 73%, 52%, 76%, 51% and 41%, respectively of C values (p < 0.05–0.001). These data suggest that GH, TSH-α and TSH-β gene expression are modulated by metabolic and/or endocrine changes accompanying restricted feeding, fasting and diabetes. P Santisteban, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, CSIC, Arturo Duperier 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain