Thymopoietin and thymopentin enhance the levels of ACTH, β-endorphin and β-lipotropin from rat pituitary cells in vitro

1987 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Malaise ◽  
M. T. Hazee-Hagelstein ◽  
A. M. Reuter ◽  
Y. Vrinds-Gevaert ◽  
G. Goldstein ◽  
...  

Abstract. Thymopoietin and thymopentin are well characterized polypeptides influencing immunoregulation by several mechanisms. Proposed as a therapy in diseases with major immune abnormalities such as rheumatoid arthritis, thymopentin improved within 2 weeks some clinical parameters as pain and joint swelling. The hypothesis that this spectacular effect could be mediated through interactions with anti-inflammatory (ACTH) and pain relieving (β-endorphin) hormones producing cells was tested on the rat isolated pituitary cell model. Thymopentin and thymopoietin can enhance in vitro the levels of ACTH, β-endorphin and β-lipotropin in a time- and dose-dependent fashion for physiological concentrations ranging from 10−12 to 10−8 mol/l. The action on pituitary cells was restricted to those molecules as no changes occurred in LH, FSH, GH, TSH and PRL levels, after otherwise identical experimental conditions.

1990 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Robinson ◽  
J. J. Evans

ABSTRACT We previously demonstrated that oxytocin stimulates LH release from rat pituitary cells in vitro and advances follicular development and ovulation in mice in vivo. This study reports an investigation of rat LH levels following in-vivo administration of oxytocin. Injection of oxytocin (10 mIU/g, i.p.) to rats at 07.00, 08.00 and 09.00 h of pro-oestrus or at 09.00, 10.00 and 11.00 h of pro-oestrus advanced the onset of the LH surge (P<0.005) and attainment of peak concentrations of LH (P<0.02) in peripheral blood. On the other hand, the descending phase of the LH surge and the surge amplitude were not altered by oxytocin. Treatment at 05.00, 06.00 and 07.00 h of pro-oestrus or at 11.00, 12.00 and 13.00 h of pro-oestrus had no effect on the LH profile. A higher oxytocin dose (20 mIU/g) inhibited LH release when treatment was begun at 05.00, 07.00 or 09.00 h of pro-oestrus. A lower dose (5 mIU/g) was ineffective in altering LH concentrations. In addition, injections of oxytocin (10 mIU/g) at oestrus, metoestrus or dioestrus had no effect on the release of LH. Thus the efficacy of oxytocin in altering concentrations of LH was dose dependent and also critically affected by the day of the oestrous cycle and the time of pro-oestrus. Removal of endogenous oxytocin activity by the use of an oxytocin receptor antagonist abolished the pro-oestrous LH surge, indicating that oxytocin is a vital physiological component of the LH-releasing mechanism in rats. The study provides unequivocal evidence that oxytocin induces LH release in vivo, but the manifestation of oxytocin activity is dependent upon conditions of exposure. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 125, 425–432


1990 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Robertson ◽  
P. G. Farnworth ◽  
L. Clarke ◽  
J. Jacobsen ◽  
N. F. Cahir ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The mode of action of a recently isolated gonadal protein, termed FSH-suppressing protein (FSP) or follistatin, on basal and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-stimulated release of FSH and LH and on pituitary cell content of FSH and LH was examined in rat pituitary cell cultures and compared with the previously reported effects of inhibin. Pituitary cells were cultured for 3–9 days in the presence of graded doses of FSP and the basal release rates and changes in cell contents of FSH and LH determined during this period. FSP suppressed both the basal release rate and the cell content of FSH with median inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 135 and 161 pmol/l respectively. The corresponding effects of FSP on LH basal release rate and LH cell content (IC50 = 200 pmol/l) were limited compared with the effects on FSH. The effect of FSP on GnRH-stimulated release of FSH and LH during 4 h was determined in cells which had been preincubated with FSP for 3 days, and the GnRH-stimulated release of FSH and LH analysed as a percentage of the respective gonadotrophin available for release. FSP antagonized GnRH action with dose-related increases in the GnRH median effective (stimulatory) concentrations for FSH and LH release (EC50 values = 56 and 400 pmol/l respectively) and a suppression in the maximum release of FSH and LH by excess GnRH (IC50 values =142 and 150 pmol/l respectively). The effect of FSP on FSH cell content after 3 days in culture was insensitive to the neutralizing effects of an inhibin antiserum. The pattern of FSP-induced suppression of FSH basal release and cell content and its inhibition of GnRH-stimulated release of FSH and LH was similar to that observed with inhibin, although FSP is 10–20% as potent as inhibin. When inhibin and FSP were assayed either individually or as a 1:1 (v/v) mixture, the experimentally determined biological activity of the mixture did not differ significantly from that predicted from the individual activities. It was concluded from the similarity in pituitary responses to FSH and inhibin that FSP is a weak inhibin agonist. Its action can be discriminated from that of inhibin by an inhibin antiserum; however, FSP and inhibin may share a common underlying mechanism of action since their effects are additive. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 124, 417–423


1988 ◽  
Vol 117 (4_Suppl) ◽  
pp. S188-S189
Author(s):  
L. KIESEL ◽  
T. RABE ◽  
D. SCHOLZ ◽  
V. KIRSCHNER ◽  
B. RUNNEBAUM

1980 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. DELITALA ◽  
T. YEO ◽  
ASHLEY GROSSMAN ◽  
N. R. HATHWAY ◽  
G. M. BESSER

The inhibitory effects of dopamine and various ergot alkaloids on prolactin secretion were studied using continuously perfused columns of dispersed rat anterior pituitary cells. Bromocriptine (5 nmol/l) and lisuride hydrogen maleate (5 nmol/l) both inhibited prolactin secretion, the effects persisting for more than 3 h after the end of the administration of the drugs. A similar although less long-lasting effect was observed with lergotrile (50 nmol/l) and the new ergoline derivative, pergolide (5 nmol/l). These effects contrasted with the rapid disappearance of the action of dopamine. The potency estimates of the ergots relative to that of dopamine were: lergotrile, 2·3; bromocriptine, 13; lisuride, 15; pergolide, 23. The dopamine-receptor blocking drugs, metoclopramide and haloperidol, antagonized the prolactin release-inhibiting activity of the compounds; bromocriptine and lisuride showed the highest resistance to this dopaminergic blockade. The results suggested that the direct effect of the ergot derivatives on dispersed pituitary cells was mediated through dopamine receptors and emphasized the long-lasting action of bromocriptine and lisuride in vitro.


1984 ◽  
Vol 246 (3) ◽  
pp. E243-E248
Author(s):  
A. L. Goodman

To examine a regulatory role for inhibin in female rabbits, an in vitro bioassay for inhibin activity was modified to use cultured rabbit pituitary cells and charcoal-extracted porcine follicular fluid (pFFx) as a reference preparation. pFFx inhibited follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) release in a dose-dependent manner in cultures from both intact (I) and castrate (C) does at doses that also inhibited FSH release by cultured rat pituitary cells. Basal FSH release by I cells was inhibited greater than 10% by 0.02% (vol/vol) and greater than 90% by greater than or equal to 0.2% pFFx, whereas in C cells maximal inhibition of FSH release plateaued at only approximately 75%. FSH secretion was restored after removal of pFFx in day 2 media. Luteinizing hormone (LH) release by C cells was not inhibited at any dose of pFFx, but in I cells LH was progressively inhibited to approximately 60% of control levels during day 2 (but not day 1). Charcoal-extracted media (0.25-1%) in which 5 X 10(5) rabbit granulosa cells had been earlier cultured for 72 h produced a parallel inhibition of FSH release. The present findings demonstrate that 1) rabbit pituitary cells are responsive to inhibin, i.e., pFFx preferentially inhibited FSH secretion in a direct, graded, and reversible manner and 2) rabbit follicular granulosa cells secrete an inhibin-like substance.


1990 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 468-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaaki Yamaguchi ◽  
Masahiro Sakata ◽  
Noboru Matsuzaki ◽  
Koji Koike ◽  
Akira Miyake ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deokbae Park ◽  
Minseok cheon ◽  
Changmee Kim ◽  
Kyungjin Kim ◽  
Kyungza Ryu

Park D, Cheon M, Kim C, Kim K, Ryu K. Progesterone together with estradiol promotes luteinizing hormoneβ-subunit mRNA stability in rat pituitary cells in vitro. Eur J Endocrinol 1996;134:236–42. ISSN 0804–4643 The present study examined the role of ovarian steroids, estradiol and/or progesterone in the regulation of luteinizing hormone β-subunit (LH-β) mRNA levels and LH release in the rat anterior pituitary cells cultured in vitro. When estradiol (10 nmol/l and/or progesterone (100 nmol/l) were added to the cultures, neither estradiol or progesterone nor both together altered the basal LH-β mRNA levels or LH release. Continuous exposure to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH, 0.2 nmol/l) for 24 h markedly induced LH-β mRNA accumulation, and in this experimental condition, progesterone alone and progesterone + estradiol further augmented GnRH-induced LH-β mRNA levels and LH release. Then we explored further the possibility that ovarian steroids are involved in modulating LH-β mRNA stability in cultured rat pituitary cells where transcription was inhibited by actinomycin D. Anterior pituitary cells were preincubated with GnRH (0.2 nmol/l) for 16 h and, after removing GnRH from culture medium, the cells were incubated further in the presence of actinomycin D (5 μmol/l) for 24 h. The LH-β mRNA levels gradually declined to about 30% of the control values (zero time point after GnRH removal) in a time-dependent manner. During this period, either progesterone alone or progesterone + estradiol clearly blocked the degradation of LH-β mRNA species. These results indicate that ovarian steroids promote LH-β mRNA stability, thereby contributing to the maintenance of GnRH-stimulated LH-β mRNA levels. Kyungza Ryu, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 120-749, Seoul, Korea


Life Sciences ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 75 (24) ◽  
pp. 2897-2909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indrajit Chowdhury ◽  
Jung-Tsun Chien ◽  
Abhijit Chatterjee ◽  
John Yuh-Lin Yu

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document