Sexual differences in the serotonergic control of prolactin and luteinizing hormone secretion in the rat

The effects of serotonin on PRL and LH release were investigated in female and male rats under different experimental conditions. At a dose of 5 mg/kg ip, serotonin increased serum PRL titers in intact males and in females during diestrus and estrus; the levels attained in the male rats were much higher than in the females. At a lower dose (2.5 mg/kg) the PRL-releasing effect of serotonin was only evident in male rats. Thus, we chose this dose for the following experiments to investigate the apparent sexual difference. To evaluate the importance of the hormonal status characteristic of male and female in conditioning the serotonin effect, an experiment was performed in gonadectomized rats, untreated or treated with estradiol benzoate (EB), or testosterone propionate (TP). In the three hormonal conditions the sexual difference was maintained: serotonin released PRL in males and failed to do so in females. However, if males were castrated within 24 h of birth, and females androgenized by a single perinatal injection of TP, the sexual difference in adulthood were reversed; thus, androgenized females responded to serotonin and males castrated at birth failed to do so. These results suggest that a male differentiated brain is more sensitive to the PRL-releasing effect of serotonin, irrespective of the hormonal environment of the rat. On the other hand, serotonin increased serum LH in female rats in estrus and in adult ovariectomized rats treated with EB; but not in females in diestrus or in ovariectomized rats, treated with TP or untreated. Neither did it modify serum LH titers in male rats whether intact, orchidectomized, or orchidectomized plus steroids. However, if male rats were castrated a few hours after birth and then treated in adulthood with EB, serotonin effectively released LH. Thus, two components, estradiol and a feminine differentiated brain, may be necessary for the facilitatory action of serotonin on LH release. Since no sex differences were observed in the increase of serum serotonin after the injection of 2.5 mg/kg of the drug, it can be discounted that the differences described for the endocrine effect of the drug could be due to different levels of circulating indolamine achieved in male and female rats. Taken together, our results indicate that serotonergic control of anterior pituitary secretion is sexually differentiated and that it presents individual characteristics for PRL and LH release.     

Factors regulating growth hormone secretion in humans.

Growth hormone (GH) secretion is pulsatile in nature in all species. The periodic pattern of GH release plays an important role in transmitting the GH message in a tissue-specific manner. The question of what regulates the pulsatile GH secretion pattern is an issue of not only theoretical interest but of considerable practical importance for designing different GH therapies for a variety of human diseases. This article provides a brief introductory overview of the different regulators of GH secretion and concentrates primarily on human studies.     

Sexual dimorphism in the control of growth hormone secretion

The secretory pattern of GH in the mature rat is sexually differentiated. In male rats GH is secreted in pulses occurring at regular 3- to 4-h intervals. In females the pulses are lower and plasma GH levels between the pulses are higher than in males. The continuous presence of testosterone appears to be necessary to maintain low basal GH levels in adult male rats. Neonatal, but not prepubertal, gonadectomy decreases GH pulse height in adult male rats to female levels. Administration of testosterone neonatally to castrated animals returns GH pulse height to normal suggesting that neonatal testicular androgen secretion is one determinant for GH pulse height in adult male rats. Administration of testosterone neonatally or during adult life to neonatally ovariectomized rats also produces higher GH pulses. In contrast to testosterone, estrogens elevate basal plasma GH levels and suppress the GH pulses under some conditions. Estrogens may stimulate basal GH secretion by acting directly on the pituitary. The physiological significance of the secretory pattern of GH has been investigated in hypophysectomized rats by simulating different plasma patterns of GH. The results suggest that high, infrequent GH pulses with low plasma GH levels in between (i.e. a masculine plasma GH pattern) promotes growth more effectively than an intermediate, rather constant level of plasma GH (i.e. a feminine plasma GH pattern). Since male sex steroids masculinize the secretory pattern of GH and have only minor growth-promoting effects in hypophysectomized animals it appears that the growth promoting effect of androgens is indirect and is due to an altered secretory pattern of GH. Presumably, neonatal androgen secretion stimulates body growth during adult life by irreversibly masculinizing the secretory pattern of GH. In contrast, estrogens appear to influence body growth by mechanisms that are mainly independent of the secretory pattern of GH. Evidence is accumulating that the secretory pattern of GH in the rat also affects various sexually differentiated hepatic characteristics such as steroid metabolism and prolactin receptor concentration. Thus, a feminization of the liver develops after continuous, but not intermittent, administration of GH to hypophysectomized rats. GH secretion is predominantly regulated by two hypothalamic peptides; GRF, and the GH-release-inhibiting factor, somatostatin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating growth hormone and prolactin secretion during lactation

The maternal plasma concentrations of GH and PRL increase dramatically upon the initiation of lactation in the rat. In light of the fact that these two hormones have evolved from one common precursor, we sought to determine if the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating their concomitant increase during lactation are common or if they are functionally distinct. To evaluate this, lactating rats were passively immunized with antiserum raised against GHRH and then monitored for changes in GH and PRL secretion in response to suckling. On day 9 or 10 postpartum, pups were removed from their mothers at 0800 h. At 1100 h mothers were injected with normal rabbit serum (NRS) or GHRH antiserum (GHRH-ab). At 1400 h a control blood sample was drawn. Pups were then returned to their mothers, with subsequent blood samples drawn over the next 60 min. Plasma concentrations of GH significantly increased to 12.3 +/- 1.0 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM) in NRS-treated females after the return of the pups. In contrast, there was no change in GH concentrations in the females treated with the GHRH-ab. Plasma PRL concentrations rose approximately 200 ng/ml in both the NRS-treated animals and the GHRH-ab-treated ones. Body weight gains of the pups during the 60-min period of lactation were similar in both groups. These results suggest that the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating the increases in GH and PRL during lactation are distinct and that GHRH is the hypothalamic factor responsible for the increase in GH. Furthermore, these results suggest that acutely interrupting the increase in GH secretion that occurs during lactation does not compromise nursing behavior and performance.     

Sexual dimorphism of somatostatin and growth hormone-releasing factor signaling in the control of pulsatile growth hormone secretion in the rat.

A striking sexual dimorphism exists in the pattern of GH secretion and rate of somatic growth; however, the mechanism(s) mediating this sex difference is unknown. To elucidate the physiological roles of the hypothalamic neuropeptides, somatostatin (SRIF) and GRF, and their interrelation, in generating the sexually dimorphic GH secretory pattern we examined: 1) GH responsiveness to exogenous GRF and 2) the effects of immunoneutralization of endogenous SRIF and GRF on GH secretory dynamics, in free-moving male and female rats. In males, the GH response to 1 microgram rat(r)GRF(1-29)NH2 iv was significantly greater at peak compared to trough times of GH secretion (925.2 +/- 250.8 vs. 95.6 +/- 27.8 ng/ml; P less than 0.02), the latter known to be due to antagonization by the cyclic increased release of endogenous SRIF. In contrast, females failed to exhibit a time-dependent difference in GH responsiveness to GRF. Passive immunization with a specific antiserum to SRIF in males resulted in significant elevation of GH nadir levels but had no effect on GH peak amplitude. In contrast, immunoneutralization of endogenous SRIF in females caused a marked augmentation of plasma GH levels at all time points; there was a significant increase in GH peak amplitude (171.3 +/- 39.9 vs. 67.5 +/- 11.3 ng/ml; P less than 0.05), GH nadir (18.3 +/- 2.7 vs. 5.8 +/- 1.1 ng/ml; P less than 0.01) and mean 6-h plasma GH level (78.7 +/- 4.1 vs. 33.1 +/- 5.8 ng/ml; P less than 0.001), compared to normal sheep serum-treated controls. These results indicate that the pattern of hypothalamic SRIF secretion in females does not follow the male-like ultradian rhythm. Passive immunization with a specific antiserum to GRF obliterated spontaneous GH pulses in both sexes. Moreover, in females, anti-GRF serum attenuated GH nadir levels (4.3 +/- 1.7 vs. 21.4 +/- 3.5 ng/ml; P less than 0.01) indicating a physiological role for GRF in maintaining the elevated basal GH level of females, in addition to its important role in generating the episodic GH pulses. Taken together, these findings provide support for the hypothesis that, in female rats, the pattern of hypothalamic SRIF secretion into hypophyseal portal blood is continuous, rather than cyclical, as in the male; whereas in the case of GRF secretion, in addition to steady-state release which occurs at a higher level in females than males, there is also episodic GRF bursting which does not follow a specific rhythm, as in the male.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Chlorpromazine inhibits episodic growth hormone secretion in the rat.

Effects of chlorpromazine (CPZ) on plasma GH and prolactin levels were observed in conscious rats provided with chronic indwelling right atrial cannulae. The administration of CPZ (200 micrograms/100 g b.w. iv) suppressed episodic plasma GH burst and resulted in significant elevations of plasma prolactin levels. These were also observed in rats in which two types of hypothalamic deafferentation, i.e. anterior and complete, had been carried out. The data suggest that CPZ acts within the medial basal hypothalamus and inhibits episodic plasma GH secretion. In addition, it is inferred that catecholamines are involved in the generation of episodic plasma GH burst.     

Sex differences in beta-adrenergic stimulation of growth hormone secretion in vitro

In previous in vitro studies we have shown that the amounts of GH released by pituitary cells in response to human GH-releasing factor -40 (hGRF-40) are significantly related to the sex and gonadal hormone environment of the donor animals. The present studies were designed to determine whether the beta-adrenergic stimulation of GH release is sex related and to compare the response to that observed after hGRF-40. Dispersed pituitary cells from male or female rats were exposed to sequential pulses of isoproterenol (ISO) and epinephrine (EPI), followed by a single pulse of 10 nM hGRF-40. In a second series of experiments, the cells were exposed to sequential pulses of norepinephrine (NE), followed by a single pulse of 10 nM hGRF-40. ISO and EPI stimulated GH secretion at concentrations as low as 10(-8) M, but NE required a concentration of 10(-6) M to cause significant GH release. GH release after ISO, EPI, and NE was concentration dependent, and the order of potency was ISO greater than EPI greater than NE. The amounts of GH secreted by pituitary cells from male rats were significantly greater than those from female rats, and the magnitude of the difference was directly comparable to that observed in response to hGRF-40. These results confirm the beta-adrenergic stimulation of GH release, and the order of potency is consistent with mediation by a beta 2-adrenergic receptor. The significantly greater capacity for pituitary cells from male rats to secrete GH supports the possibility that individual somatotropes in the pituitaries of male rats might have a greater responsiveness and/or sensitivity to beta-adrenergic and hGRF-40 stimulation.     

Influence of hypothyroidism duration on developmental changes in the hypothalamic factors implicated in growth hormone secretion in the male rat.

The effects of hypothyroidism duration on several factors implicated in GH secretion control were studied in the male rat at different maturity stages, ranging from the peripuberal period to adulthood. Thyroid ablation was performed on 22-day-old Wistar male rats maintained on a low iodine diet (T group). Age-paired controls (C group) were fed with the same diet, supplemented with potassium iodide. Subgroups of T and C animals (aged 32, 42, 52, 82 and 112 days) were studied 10, 20, 30, 60 and 90 days after surgery. After pentobarbital anesthesia, jugular blood was withdrawn before and 5 min after an intravenous TRH stimulus, for GH assay. Hypothalamic and pituitary tissues were obtained in order to measure GH, immunoreactive somatostatin (IR-SRIF) and growth hormone-releasing factor (IR-GRF). Growth rate and serum testosterone confirmed that C rats reached sexual maturity by day 30 of the study. Mean +/- SE serum GH (ng/ml) increased (p less than 0.05) in C animals from day 10 (38.5 +/- 5) to day 30 (67.4 +/- 7.3), with no significant variations thereafter. The same time sequence pattern was observed in pituitary GH concentrations. In T rats, both serum and pituitary GH decreased progressively from day 10 to 90, being significantly lower than in C at all times of the study. No GH response to TRH could be found in C groups. In contrast, GH increased significantly (p less than 0.05) in T animals after TRH at days 20 and 30.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Influence of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on growth hormone secretion in the rat

The effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on pituitary growth hormone (GH) content and release from incubated pituitaries were investigated. Male rats were made diabetic by a single injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg) and sacrificed by decapitation 15 days later. Pituitary GH concentration was significantly reduced in streptozotocin diabetic rats as compared to that observed in control animals. The amount of GH released from hemipituitaries was also lower in diabetic rats than in controls. Kinetic characteristics of somatostatin (SRIF) inhibition of GH release were not affected by the treatment. These results suggest that the decrease in plasma GH observed by some investigators in streptozotocin diabetic rats is probably due to a deficiency in GH storage and/or synthesis rather than a change in the responsiveness of pituitary GH cells to SRIF.     

Development of hypothalamic control of growth hormone secretion in the rat

The development of hypothalamic control of GH in the late prenatal and early postnatal periods in the rat was studied by employing a static system for the incubation of pituitaries. The basal secretion of GH into the medium after a 3-h incubation period showed a gradual increase from day 18 prenatally to day 1 postnatally. This was followed by a gradual decline in GH release on postnatal days 5 and 8. There was a sustained rise in the total pituitary GH content from prenatal day 18 to postnatal day 8. The percentage of the total GH that was released into the medium was high from fetal pituitaries and lower from neonatal pituitaries. TRH (100 ng/ml) stimulated GH secretion starting on prenatal day 21. This TRH effect persisted through day 8 postnatally. Hypothalamic extracts from fetuses and neonates stimulated the secretion of GH when coincubated with pituitaries of the same age and with adult male rat pituitaries. Similarly, adult male rat hypothalamic extract stimulated the secretion of GH from pituitaries of 1-day-old neonates. Pronase treatment of neonatal hypothalamic extract completely abolished its stimulatory effect on GH release. Incubation of 1-day postnatal pituitaries with cerebral cortical extract obtained from neonates of the same age did not alter the secretion of GH; however, cerebral cortical extract from adult males did cause a significant stimulation of GH release from the neonatal pituitaries. Somatostatin (100 ng/ml) failed to inhibit GH release by pituitaries until day 5 postnatally, but a 10-fold increase in the concentration of somatostatin significantly inhibited GH secretion from pituitaries of rats as early as day 21 prenatally. Coincubation of hypothalamic extract with the high concentration of somatostatin significantly attenuated the effect of the extract in stimulating GH release from pituitaries of 1-day-old rats. The results suggest that the high circulating levels of GH during the late prenatal and early neonatal periods are maintained by a combination of factors including the release of a hypothalamic peptidergic GH-releasing factor, the relative insensitivity of the pituitary to somatostatin, and changes in the relative size of storage vs. releasable pools of GH during development.     

Antiserum to somatostatin-28 augments growth hormone secretion in the rat

To determine directly whether somatostatin-28 (S-28) physiologically regulates GH secretion, and what its contribution is relative to somatostatin-14 (S-14), we have compared the effects of immunoneutralization with a specific S-28 antibody with those of an anti S-14/S-28 serum on GH secretory dynamics in the rat. Plasma samples were obtained every 15 min for 7 h (1000-1700 h) from conscious, chronically cannulated rats after iv administration of 1 ml of one of the following sera: 1) rabbit anti S-28 (reacts with S-28, but not with S-14; maximum binding, 297 pmol/ml), 2) nonimmune rabbit serum, 3) sheep anti-S-14/S-28 serum (maximum binding, 9.4 nmol S-14 or S-28/ml), and 4) nonimmune sheep serum. A comparison of the mean integrated plasma GH levels during peak and trough periods showed significantly higher trough GH levels in both antibody-treated groups compared to those in the corresponding controls. In the anti-S-14/S-28-treated group, the elevation of trough period GH levels (40.5 +/- 3.5 ng/ml) represented a 3.25-fold increase (P less than 0.01) compared to the control value (12.5 +/- 1.5 ng/ml). In the anti-S-28-treated group, trough period GH levels (14 +/- 1.6 ng/ml) showed a 2.3-fold increase (P less than 0.01) compared to the control value (6.1 +/- 0.9 ng/ml). Mean peak period GH levels were 1.35-fold higher (P less than 0.05) than control values in the anti-S-14/S-28-treated group; anti-S-28 serum did not change mean peak GH levels. These data provide strong evidence that circulating S-28 (like S-14) physiologically regulates trough GH secretion and that the contribution of S-28 to GH inhibition is as important as that of S-14.     

Evidence for a growth hormone releasing factor mediating alpha-adrenergic influence on growth hormone secretion in the rat

The effects of adrenergic receptor agonists on GH secretion were studied in adult, male rats pretreated with reserpine and somatostatin antiserum. Frequent blood samples were obtained from intra-aortic cannulae. Plasma GH was determined by radioimmunoassay. Reserpine (10 mg/kg i.p.) caused a complete suppression of the normal, pulsatile secretion of GH in all animals. Administration of somatostatin antiserum resulted in rapid elevations of plasma GH in reserpine-pretreated rats with peak levels at 30 min. GH levels then fell but remained slightly elevated for the duration of the sampling period (8 h). Apomorphine (0.5 mg/kg i.p.) had no effect on plasma GH levels, whereas clonidine (0.5 mg/kg i.p.) induced release of GH in both antiserum treated and control rats. The results indicate that the alpha-adrenergic influence on the secretion of GH is mediated not by inhibition of somatostatin release but rather by effects on the release of a GHRF.     

Further evidence that thyrotropin-releasing hormone participate in the regulation of growth hormone secretion in the rat

Effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) on growth hormone (GH) secretion were investigated in vivo (on intact or mediobasal hypothalamic lesioned rats tested under either anesthesia or free moving conditions) as well as in vitro (in incubation or perifusion systems of anterior pituitary tissue). The peptide induced a rapid, dose-dependent increase of plasma GH levels in free moving animals bearing an extensive lesion of the mediobasal hypothalamus including the median eminence. Under comparable conditions, TRH was ineffective in intact animals. After chloral hydrate anesthesia a GH response to TRH was recorded in both groups, but lesioned rats exhibited a better responsiveness to all doses tested. In vitro TRH increased GH release from incubated or perifused pituitaries sampled from both intact and lesioned rats in a transient and concentration-dependent manner. A similar effect was obtained with the (3 Me His2) analogue of TRH. These findings indicate that TRH can affect GH secretion at the pituitary level under specific experimental conditions and support the hypothesis that either peripheral hormones or other, still unidentified hypothalamic neurohormones may modulate this effect.     

Pubertal growth and growth hormone secretion

A dramatic increase in linear growth velocity, often referred to as the pubertal growth spurt, is a central feature of pubertal development. Despite the existence of numerous investigative attempts, a precise understanding of the hormonal events subserving this process has proved elusive. Nevertheless, evidence has gradually accumulated that indicates that sex steroid-induced modulation of growth hormone secretion is a central and critical feature of the pubertal growth spurt. As a result, disorders of either growth hormone or sex steroid hormone production may result in clinical growth disorders during puberty.     

Dynamic studies of growth hormone and prolactin secretion in the female rat.

Blood samples were removed via chronic intra-atrial cannulae every 15 min in female rats during the estrous cycle, the last week of pregnancy, parturition and suckling. Growth hormone (GH) secretion during the estrous cycle is characterized by episodic release, occurring approximately once hourly. The surges in GH increase during the last 3-4 days of gestation, and rise to high levels during delivery and with suckling. Prolactin (PRL) shows minimal fluctuations during the estrous cycle, except for a prominent pulsatile surge during proestrus. PRL rises 4-6 h prior to parturition and declines during delivery. These studies provide a basis for further studies on the dynamics of GH and PRL secretion in the female rat.