Stimulatory effect of retinoic acid on GH gene expression: the interaction of retinoic acid and tri-iodothyronine in rat pituitary cells

We have previously demonstrated that retinoic acid (RA) as well as thyroid hormone stimulates GH gene expression. To clarify the relationship between the action of RA and thyroid hormone, pituitary-specific gene expression was investigated further in rat pituitary cells. Rat clonal pituitary cells, GH3, were treated with RA with or without tri-iodothyronine (T3) for up to 3 days. After treatment with 10-1000 nmol RA/l with or without 0.1-10 nmol T3/l, medium was collected for radioimmunoassay and cells were subjected to RNA extraction, and GH and prolactin gene expression was analysed using 32P-labelled rat GH and rat prolactin cDNA probes respectively. The data demonstrated the dose-responsive manner of the stimulatory effects of RA and T3 on GH secretion with T3-depleted media. The action of RA was additive to that of T3 for GH secretion when maximum effective doses of RA or T3 were used. Using dot blot and Northern gel analysis, it was shown that RA increased GH mRNA levels in T3-depleted media, and that this action of RA was additive to that of T3 on the induction of GH mRNA levels. In contrast, neither RA nor T3 stimulated the secretion of prolactin and prolactin mRNA levels in these cells. Our results indicate that RA stimulates GH mRNA increment and GH secretion in T3-depleted media, and that the stimulatory effect of RA is additive to the maximum effective dose of T3.