Further studies on the regulation, localization and function of the TRH-like peptide pyroglutamyl-glutamyl-prolineamide in the rat anterior pituitary gland

1995 ◽  
Vol 146 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M M Rondeel ◽  
W Klootwijk ◽  
E Linkels ◽  
P H M Jeucken, W ◽  
L J Hofland ◽  
...  

Abstract Recent evidence shows that thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) immunoreactivity in the rat anterior pituitary gland is accounted for by the TRH-like tripeptide prolineamide-glutamyl-prolineamide (pGlu-Glu-ProNH2, <EEP-NH2). The present study was undertaken to investigate further the regulation, localization and possible intrapituitary function of <EEP-NH2. Anterior pituitary levels of <EEP-NH2 were determined between days 5 and 35 of life, during the oestrous cycle and after treatment with the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist Org 30276. Treatment of adult males with the LHRH antagonist either for 1 day (500 μg/100 g body weight) or for 5 days (50 μg/100 g body weight) reduced anterior pituitary <EEP-NH2 levels by 25–30% (P<0·05 versus saline-treated controls). Anterior pituitary <EEP-NH2 increased between days 5 and 35 of life. In females, these levels were 2- to 3-fold higher (P<0·05) than in males between days 15 and 25 after birth; these changes corresponded with the higher plasma follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in the female rats. After day 25, <EEP-NH2 levels in female rats decreased in parallel with a decrease in plasma FSH. Injections with the LHRH antagonist (500 μg/100 g body weight), starting on day 22 of life, led to reduced contents of <EEP-NH2 in the anterior pituitary gland of female rats on days 26 and 30 (55 and 35% decrease respectively). Levels of <EEP-NH2 in the anterior pituitary gland did not change significantly during the oestrous cycle. Fractionation of anterior pituitary cells by unit gravity sedimentation was found to be compatible with the localization of <EEP-NH2 in gonadotrophs. In vitro, <EEP-NH2 dose-dependently inhibited TRH-stimulated growth hormone (GH) release from anterior pituitary cells obtained from neonatal rats, but no consistent effects were seen on the in vitro release of luteinizing hormone (LH), FSH, prolactin (PRL) or thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) under basal or TRH/LHRH-stimulated conditions. Furthermore, <EEP-NH2 did not affect the in vitro hormone release by anterior pituitary cells obtained from adult rats. In vivo, <EEP-NH2 (0·3–1·0 μg intravenously) did not affect plasma PRL, TSH, LH, FSH and GH in adult male rats. We conclude that <EEP-NH2 in the anterior pituitary gland is regulated by LHRH, is probably localized in gonadotrophs and may play a (paracrine) role in neonatal GH release. Journal of Endocrinology (1995) 146, 293–300

Endocrinology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 859-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan M. Taylor ◽  
Sara L. Bagley ◽  
Willis K. Samson

Intermedin (IMD), a novel member of the adrenomedullin (AM), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), amylin (AMY) peptide family, has been reported to act promiscuously at all the known receptors for these peptides. Like AM and CGRP, IMD acts in the circulation to decrease blood pressure and in the brain to inhibit food intake, effects that could be explained by activation of the known CGRP, AM, or AMY receptors. Because AM, CGRP, and AMY have been reported to affect hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland, we examined the effects of IMD on GH, ACTH, and prolactin secretion from dispersed anterior pituitary cells harvested from adult male rats. IMD, in log molar concentrations ranging from 1.0 pm to 100 nm, failed to significantly alter basal release of the three hormones. Similarly, IMD failed to significantly alter CRH-stimulated ACTH or TRH-stimulated prolactin secretion in vitro. However, IMD concentration-dependently inhibited GHRH-stimulated GH release from these cell cultures. The effects of IMD, although requiring higher concentrations, were as efficacious as those of somatostatin and, like somatostatin, may be mediated, at least in part, by decreasing cAMP accumulation. These actions of IMD were not shared by other members of the AM-CGRP-AMY family of peptides, suggesting the presence of a novel, unique IMD receptor in the anterior pituitary gland and a potential neuroendocrine action of IMD to interact with the hypothalamic mechanisms controlling growth and metabolism.


1998 ◽  
Vol 159 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Pisera ◽  
S Theas ◽  
A De Laurentiis ◽  
M Lasaga ◽  
B Duvilanski ◽  
...  

We have previously reported that neurokinin A (NKA), a tachykinin closely related to substance P, increases the release of prolactin (PRL) from the anterior pituitary gland of male rats, but not from pituitaries of ovariectomized (OVX) female rats. In this study, we evaluated the influence of estrogens in the action of NKA on PRL secretion in female rats. NKA stimulated the in vitro release of PRL from pituitary glands of OVX-chronically estrogenized rats, and of proestrus and estrus rats, but had no effect in anterior pituitaries of diestrus rats. In addition, we observed that cultured anterior pituitary cells of OVX rats responded to NKA only when they were incubated for 3 days in the presence of estradiol 10(-9) M. This effect was blocked by L-659,877, an NK-2 receptor antagonist. We also studied the action of NKA on PRL release during lactation. The response of anterior pituitary cells to NKA was variable over this period. The maximal sensitivity to NKA was observed at day 10 of lactation. Furthermore, the blockade of endogenous NKA by the administration of an anti-NKA serum to lactating rats reduced the PRL surge induced by the suckling stimulus. These results show that the responsiveness of the anterior pituitary gland of female rats to NKA is modulated by the endocrine environment, and suggest that NKA may participate in the control of PRL secretion during the estrus cycle and lactation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia A. Ronchetti ◽  
María S. Bianchi ◽  
Beatriz H. Duvilanski ◽  
Jimena P. Cabilla

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is at the top of toxic metalloids. Inorganic arsenic-contaminated water consumption is one of the greatest environmental health threats worldwide. Human iAs exposure has been associated with cancers of several organs, neurological disorders, and reproductive problems. Nevertheless, there are no reports describing how iAs affects the anterior pituitary gland. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms involved in iAs-mediated anterior pituitary toxicity both in vivo and in vitro. We showed that iAs administration (from 5 to 100 ppm) to male rats through drinking water increased messenger RNA expression of several oxidative stress-responsive genes in the anterior pituitary gland. Serum prolactin levels diminished, whereas luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were only affected at the higher dose tested. In anterior pituitary cells in culture, 25 µmol/L iAs significantly decreased prolactin release in a time-dependent fashion, whereas LH levels remained unaltered. Cell viability was significantly reduced mainly by apoptosis evidenced by morphological and phosphatidylserine externalization studies. This process is characterized by early depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and increased levels of reactive oxygen species. Expression of some key oxidative stress-responsive genes, such as heme oxygenase-1 and metallothionein-1, was also stimulated by iAs exposure. The antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine prevented iAs-induced effects on the expression of oxidative stress markers, prolactin release, and apoptosis. In summary, the present work demonstrates for the first time that iAs reduces prolactin release both in vivo and in vitro and induces apoptosis in anterior pituitary cells, possibly resulting from imbalanced cellular redox status.


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).


1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1259-1262 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. D. Chan ◽  
Jie-Ying Deng ◽  
Anoop K. Brar ◽  
Nabil G. Seidah ◽  
Michel Chrétien

We have recently purified a novel pituitary polypeptide designated 7B2. By raising polyclonal antibodies to a synthetic 7B2 fragment in rabbits, we have developed a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for this novel polypeptide, and it has been used for the study of the release of immunoreactive 7B2 from rat anterior pituitary cells in vitro. In addition, immunocytochemical study shows that 7B2 is present in the gonadotropin cells of rat anterior pituitary. The aim of the present studies is to investigate the effect of human β-inhibin, testosterone, and combined testosterone plus human β-inhibin on the induced release of immunoreactive 7B2, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) in rat anterior pituitary cell culture in vitro. Our results show that both human β-inhibin and testosterone effectively suppress the stimulatory effect of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) on immunoreactive 7B2, FSH, and LH release. The present data indicate that the regulation of secretion of 7B2 and pituitary gonadotropins may be under a similar type of feedback mechanism.


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