Mechanism of action of Hexarelin. I. Growth hormone-releasing activity in the rat

1996 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Torsello ◽  
Roberta Grilli ◽  
Marina Luoni ◽  
Margherita Guidi ◽  
Maria Cristina Ghigo ◽  
...  

Torsello A, Grilli R, Luoni M, Guidi M, Ghigo MC, Wehrenberg WB, Deghenghi R, Müller EE, Locatelli V. Mechanism of action of Hexarelin. I. Growth hormone-releasing activity in the rat. Eur J Endocrinol 1996;135:481–8. ISSN 0804–4643 We have reported Hexarelin (HEXA), an analog of growth hormone-releasing peptide 6 (GHRP-6), potently stimulates growth hormone (GH) secretion in infant and adult rats. This study was undertaken to further investigate Hexarelin's mechanisms of action. In 10-day-old pups, treatments with HEXA (80 μg/kg, b.i.d.) for 3–10 days significantly enhanced, in a time-related fashion, the GH response to an acute HEXA challenge. Qualitatively similar effects were elicited in pups passively immunized against growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) from birth. In adult male rats, a 5-day pretreatment with HEXA (150 μg/kg, b.i.d.) did not enhance the effect of the acute challenge, and the same pattern was present after a 5-day pretreatment in male rats with surgical ablation of the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH-ablated rats). In addition, in adult sham-operated rats, Hexarelin (300 μg/kg, iv) induced a GH response greater (p < 0.05) than that induced by GHRH (2 μg/kg, iv). However, in MBH-ablated rats 7 days after surgery, GHRH was significantly (p < 0.05) more effective than HEXA, and 30 days after surgery HEXA and GHRH evoked similar rises of plasma GH. Finally, the in vitro Hexarelin (10−6 mol/l) effect was transient while GHRH (10−8 mol/l) induced a longer lasting and greater GH release. Three different mechanisms, not mutually exclusive, are postulated for Hexarelin stimulation of GH secretion in vivo: a direct action on the pituitary, though of minor relevance; an indirect action that involves release of GHRH, of relevance only in adult rats; and an action through the release of a still unknown hypothalamic "factor", which in infant and adult rats elicits GH release acting sinergistically with GHRH. Antonio Torsello, Department of Pharmacology, via Vanvitelli 32, 20129 Milano, Italy

1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (6) ◽  
pp. G674-G681 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Phillips ◽  
T. H. Phillips ◽  
M. R. Neutra

Cholinergic secretagogues evoke mucus secretion from goblet cells in the crypts of small and large intestinal mucosa in vivo and in organ culture. It was not known whether this response reflected a direct action on epithelial cell receptors or an indirect effect involving intermediate neurons of the enteric nervous system. To resolve this, carbachol was applied to isolated intestinal epithelium maintained in vitro. Intact sheets of epithelium, measuring 10–200 mm2, were isolated from the ileum and colon of adult rats following short intravascular perfusion with 30 mM EDTA. The isolated epithelia lacked a basal lamina and cytoplasmic blebs formed on the basal cell surfaces, but cell ultrastructure was normal and intercellular junctions were intact. Autoradiography revealed that both goblet and columnar cells continued to incorporate [3H]glucosamine into nascent secretory macromolecules for at least 45 min after isolation. When exposed to 20 microM carbachol for 5 min, crypt goblet cells discharged their stored mucin granules by compound exocytosis, whereas goblet cells in portions of the epithelium derived from villi or mucosal surfaces were unresponsive. We conclude that cholinergic secretagogues act directly on crypt epithelial cells to elicit mucus secretion.


2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 182-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Okulicz ◽  
I. Hertig ◽  
J. Chichłowska

: Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) was found to have possible anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and anti-atherogenic effects on the organism. So far, its influence on metabolic pathways has been unknown. This work was the first attempt to determine the carbohydrate and lipid metabolism changes <I>in vivo</I> after administration of 150 mg/kg b.wt./day I3C to male rats. Additionally, the aim of this trial was to evaluate the direct effect of I3C on basal and hormone-induced lipogenesis and lipolysis in isolated rat adipocytes at concentrations 1, 10, 100 &mu;M <I>in vitro</I>. We can corroborate that adipocytes are susceptible to the direct action of I3C. The incubation of adipocytes with I3C at the three above-mentioned concentrations resulted in its influence on restriction of glucose entry into adipocytes in the basal as well as insulin-stimulated conditions. However, it was observed that I3C at these concentrations strongly intensified basic and epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis. I3C also has a significant influence on metabolism <I>in vivo</I>. Its administration to rats caused a significant increase in the content of triglycerides and a decrease in glycogen in the liver. The considerable augmentation of glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol in high-density lipoprotein and insulin with a concomitant decrease in FFA concentrations was noted in the blood serum. I3C did not alter phospholipids, total, free, esterified cholesterol in the serum and the liver cholesterol. The results obtained <I>in vivo</I> and <I>in vivo</I> indicate that the effect of I3C is adverse for the majority of metabolic parameters which were investigated. The most important finding in this study is the effect of I3C on liver steatosis and that the observed lower lipogenesis at higher lipolysis in fat cells may be involved in the mechanism.


Author(s):  
J.M. Dawson ◽  
D.E. Beever ◽  
P.J. Buttery ◽  
M. Gill

ß-adrenergic agonists are powerful repartitioning agents, increasing muscle protein accretion and reducing fat deposition in a variety of species. Their exact mode of action is not fully understood but some of their effects are similar to those elicited by exogenous growth hormone administration. Whilst there are few reports of plasma growth hormone (GH) concentrations being elevated in animals treated with ß-agonists, several in vitro studies have clearly demonstrated a direct stimulation of GH release from perifused or cultured pituitary or adenohypophyseal cells on administration of these agents. More recently, a brief, rapid rise in plasma GH has been demonstrated in rats infused intra-atrially with isoproterenol and this was sustained when the animals were pre-treated with somatotropin release inhibitory factor (somatostatin; SRIF) antiserum. This raises the possibility that ß-adrenergic agonists do stimulate GH release in vivo but that this response is rapidly counteracted by SRIF release.The aim of this work was to attempt to enhance the repartitioning effect of ß-adrenergic agonists by immunizing young cattle against SRIF whilst administering cimaterol.


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (6) ◽  
pp. G1189-G1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Rotundo ◽  
Peter A. Vincent ◽  
Paula J. McKeown-Longo ◽  
Frank A. Blumenstock ◽  
Thomas M. Saba

Fibronectin (Fn) is a major adhesive protein found in the hepatic extracellular matrix (ECM). In adult rats, the in vivo turnover of plasma Fn (pFn) incorporated into the liver ECM is relatively rapid, i.e., <24 h, but the regulation of its turnover has not been defined. We previously reported that cellular Fn (cFn) and enzymatically desialylated plasma Fn (aFn), both of which have a high density of exposed terminal galactose residues, rapidly interact with hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGP-R) in association with their plasma clearance after intravenous infusion. With the use of adult male rats (250–350 g) and measurement of the deoxycholate (DOC)-insoluble125I-labeled Fn in the liver, we determined whether the ASGP-R system can also influence the hepatic matrix retention of various forms of Fn. There was a rapid deposition of 125I-pFn,125I-aFn, and125I-cFn into the liver ECM after their intravenous injection. Although125I-pFn was slowly lost from the liver matrix over 24 h, more than 90% of the incorporated125I-aFn and125I-cFn was cleared within 4 h ( P < 0.01). Intravenous infusion of excess nonlabeled asialofetuin to competitively inhibit the hepatic ASGP-R delayed the rapid turnover of both aFn and cFn already incorporated within the ECM of the liver. ECM retention of both125I-aFn and125I-cFn was also less than125I-pFn ( P < 0.01) as determined in vitro using liver slices preloaded in vivo with either tracer form of Fn. The hepatic ASGP-R appears to participate in the turnover of aFn and cFn within the liver ECM, whereas a non-ASGP-R-associated endocytic pathway apparently influences the removal of normal pFn incorporated within the hepatic ECM, unless it becomes locally desialylated.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (4) ◽  
pp. 1648-1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Zizzari ◽  
Romaine Longchamps ◽  
Jacques Epelbaum ◽  
Marie Thérèse Bluet-Pajot

Administration of ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for the GH secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR 1a), induces potent stimulating effects on GH secretion and food intake. However, more than 7 yr after its discovery, the role of endogenous ghrelin remains elusive. Recently, a second peptide, obestatin, also generated from proteolytic cleavage of preproghrelin has been identified. This peptide inhibits food intake and gastrointestinal motility but does not modify in vitro GH release from pituitary cells. In this study, we have reinvestigated obestatin functions by measuring plasma ghrelin and obestatin levels in a period of spontaneous feeding in ad libitum-fed and 24-h fasted mice. Whereas fasting resulted in elevated ghrelin levels, obestatin levels were significantly reduced. Exogenous obestatin per se did not modify food intake in fasted and fed mice. However, it inhibited ghrelin orexigenic effect that were evident in fed mice only. The effects of obestatin on GH secretion were monitored in superfused pituitary explants and in freely moving rats. Obestatin was only effective in vivo to inhibit ghrelin stimulation of GH levels. Finally, the relationship between octanoylated ghrelin, obestatin, and GH secretions was evaluated by iterative blood sampling every 20 min during 6 h in freely moving adult male rats. The half-life of exogenous obestatin (10 μg iv) in plasma was about 22 min. Plasma obestatin levels exhibited an ultradian pulsatility with a frequency slightly lower than octanoylated ghrelin and GH. Ghrelin and obestatin levels were not strictly correlated. In conclusion, these results show that obestatin, like ghrelin, is secreted in a pulsatile manner and that in some conditions; obestatin can modulate exogenous ghrelin action. It remains to be determined whether obestatin modulates endogenous ghrelin actions.


1980 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Donnadieu ◽  
R. M. Schimpff ◽  
P. Garnier ◽  
J. L. Chaussain ◽  
J. C. Job

Abstract. Since transferrin (Tf) in vitro has a growth-promoting activity and is associated with NSILA properties, the aim of this work was to study in vivo the relationships between Tf, somatomedin activity (SM), growth hormone (GH) secretion, and height velocity in children. An iv infusion of ornithine hydrochloride was given to 23 controls; the induced rise of GH was accompanied by a simultaneous fall of SM (r = −0.711, P < 0.001) and was preceded by a fall of Tf (r = −0.610, P < 0.01). In 17 obese children SM was within the normal range, when Tf levels were higher and arginineinduced GH peaks lower than in the controls, and a negative correlation was found between Tf basal levels and GH peaks (r = −0.608, P < 0.01). In 9 children with confirmed hypopituitarism the Tf levels were significantly lower than in the controls. In 14 children with confirmed or suspected hypopituitarism a single im injection of hGH (6 mg) failed to induce Tf variations over 24 h. In 39 of these children the height velocity was significantly correlated with Tf basal levels (r = 0.701, P < 0.001). These data suggest that transferrin is involved in growth regulation, and that GH secretion is related to transferrin levels by a feed-back mechanism.


1987 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Paolo Ceda ◽  
Robert G. Davis ◽  
Andrew R. Hoffman

Abstract. Glucocorticoids have been shown to have both stimulatory and suppressive effects on GH secretion in vitro and in vivo. In order to study the kinetics of glucocorticoid action on the somatotrope, cultured rat pituitary cells were exposed to dexamethasone for varying periods of time. During short-term incubations (≤ 4 h), dexamethasone inhibited GHRH and forskolin-elicited GH secretion, but during longer incubation periods, the glucocorticoid enhanced both basal and GHRH-stimulated GH release. The inhibitory effect of brief dexamethasone exposure was also seen in cells which previously had been exposed to dexamethasone. In addition, growth hormone secretion from cultured rat and human somatotropinoma cells was inhibited by a brief exposure to dexamethasone. Thus, the nature of glucocorticoid action on the isolated cultured somatotrope is biphasic, with brief exposure inhibiting, and more prolonged exposure stimulating GH secretion.


1984 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bíró ◽  
P. Eneroth ◽  
E. M. Ritzén

ABSTRACT Plasma concentrations of GH, TSH, tri-iodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were measured in adult rats 2 and 4 weeks after ovariectomy and ovariohysterectomy. Two weeks after ovariohysterectomy, the concentration of GH was significantly higher, but TSH and T3 concentrations were significantly lower than in rats which had been ovariectomized only. Hysterectomy had no effect on plasma GH and TSH concentrations if it was performed 2 weeks after ovariectomy. Plasma T3 had decreased by 2 weeks after ovariectomy but returned to pretreatment levels by 4 weeks. Recovery of the plasma T3 concentration was not observed if ovariectomy was followed by hysterectomy, since a further decrease of plasma T3 occurred. Plasma T4 was not significantly influenced either by ovariectomy or by ovariohysterectomy. Steroid-free uterine extracts given i.p. to ovariohysterectomized rats reduced plasma GH within 24 h of injection. Increases in plasma TSH, T3 and T4 were achieved in ovariohysterectomized rats with injections of uterine extracts (from intact, oestrogen-treated or castrated rats), but the increases were not consistent for the three hormones either as regards time after injection, nor for which particular extracts were effective. It was concluded that the uterus may contain factors which influence the GH storage and secretion and TSH-thyroid regulation in rats. J. Endocr. (1984) 101, 243–248


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Tena-Sempere ◽  
L Pinilla ◽  
E Aguilar

ABSTRACT In the present work in vitro GH pituitary responsiveness to GHRH in short-term (STO) and long-term orchidectomized (LTO) male rats was compared. In agreement with previous data obtained in vivo, pituitaries from STO rats showed reduced GH release after GHRH stimulation while LTO male pituitaries presented responses similar to those from control animals after maximal GHRH (10-6 m) stimulation. This suggests that compensatory mechanisms have taken place, probably at the pituitary level, in order to restore GH pituitary responsiveness to high doses of GHRH. However, LTO male rats showed a reduced sensitivity to GHRH relative to intact males, as indicated by a higher EC50 vs controls (40·82 ± 12·03 nm vs 0·35 ± 0·09 nm in intact males). We aimed to investigate further the events involved in the compensatory mechanisms that take place in LTO rats. For this purpose, we compared in vitro GH secretion by pituitaries from intact and LTO male rats after stimulation with specific activators of the signal transduction pathways related to GH release. Forskolin and dibutyryl cyclic-adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate were more effective in eliciting GH secretion (expressed in terms of percent increment over basal GH release) in LTO males, whereas phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate was completely ineffective in stimulating GH release in this group. Thus, our results clearly showed that long-term orchidectomy enhances the effectiveness of the cAMP pathway in inducing GH release while it completely blunts that of the protein kinase C pathway. In conclusion, orchidectomy decreased the effectiveness of GHRH in eliciting GH release in vitro. However, long-term orchidectomy activated compensatory mechanisms that restored complete GH pituitary responsiveness to maximal GHRH stimulation. These mechanisms seem not to operate in STO rats. An increased effectiveness of the cAMP pathway in eliciting GH release in LTO rats is probably involved in the aforementioned compensatory mechanisms.


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