Acute facilitory action of progesterone on gonadotropin secretion of perifused rat pituitary cells

1989 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Ortmann ◽  
Huberta Wiese ◽  
Rudolf Knuppen ◽  
Günter Emons

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetics and estrogen dependence of the facilitory progesterone action on LH and FSH secretion from pituitary cells under dynamic culture conditions. Anterior pituitary cells obtained from ovariectomized or intact adult Wistar rats were cultivated on Cytodex 1 microcarrier beads. The perifusion experiments were performed with four separate perifusion chambers. The cells of chambers I+II had been pretreated with medium containing vehicle (0.1% ethanol), those of chambers III + IV with medium containing 1 nmol/l estradiol for 48 h. After perifusion was started, each of the chambers was challenged with an initial 2-min GnRH (1 nmol/l) pulse. Chamber I was further perifused with medium containing vehicle, chamber II with medium containing vehicle + 100 nmol/l progesterone, chamber III with medium containing 1 nmol/l estradiol, and chamber IV with medium containing 1 nmol/l estradiol + 100 nmol/l progesterone. Three further GnRH pulses were administered at 50-min intervals to each of the chambers. In estradiolprimed cells from intact rats, progesterone induced a positive effect on LH and FSH secretion after 50 min of exposure to progesterone. After 100 min of progesterone treatment, LH and FSH release were enhanced to 420 and 500 per cent, respectively. When such cells were not primed with estradiol, a slight though insignificant positive action of progesterone on LH release was present after 50 and 100 min of treatment, whereas FSH secretion was not influenced. The facilitory effect of progesterone occurred only after 100 min when estradiol-primed cells from ovariectomized rats were used. LH and FSH secretion were only enhanced by up to 210 and 233 per cent, respectively. When these cells were not primed with estradiol the positive progesterone effect was absent. In conclusion, progesterone induces an acute facilitory effect on GnRH-induced LH and FSH secretion which is estrogen-dependent.

1995 ◽  
Vol 184 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuhiko Hattori ◽  
Damon C. Herbert ◽  
Mary K. Vaughan ◽  
Ken Yaga ◽  
Russel J. Reiter

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 963-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela T. Pérez ◽  
Marta E. Apfelbaum

The purpose of the present experiments was to examine the short- and long-term effects of estradiol-17β (E2), progesterone (P), and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), alone and in combination, on the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-induced luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion, using an ovariectomized rat pituitary cells culture model. After 72 h in steroid-free medium, pituitary cells were further cultured for 24 h in medium with or without E2 (1 nM), P (100 nM), or DHT (10 nM). Cultures were then incubated for 5 h in the absence or presence of 1 nM GnRH with or without steroids. LH was measured in the medium and cell extract by radioimmunoassay. The results show that the steroid hormones exert opposite effects on the release of LH induced by GnRH, which seems to be dependent upon the length of time the pituitary cells have been exposed to the steroids. In fact, short-term (5 h) action of E2 resulted in a partial inhibition (64% of control) of LH release in response to GnRH, while long-term (24 h) exposure enhanced (158%) GnRH-induced LH release. Similar results were obtained with DHT, although the magnitude of the effect was lower than with E2. Conversely, P caused an acute stimulatory action (118%) on the LH released in response to GnRH and a slightly inhibitory effect (90%) after chronic treatment. GnRH-stimulated LH biosynthesis was also influenced by steroid treatment. Significant increases in total (cells plus medium) LH were observed in pituitary cells treated with E2 or DHT. While the stimulatory effect of E2 was evident after both acute (133%) and chronic (119%) treatment, that of DHT appears to be exerted mainly after long-term priming (118%). These results suggest that the steroids modulate GnRH-induced LH secretion by acting on both synthesis and release of LH. On the other hand, total hormone content was not affected by P. The acute (5 h) effects of E2, P, and DHT on the GnRH response in E2-primed (24 h) cells during a short-term incubation, were also tested. Addition of P to the pituitary cells primed with E2 led to an acute potentiation of the stimulatory effect of E2 on GnRH-induced LH release and total content. Conversely, the augmentative E2 effect on pituitary responsiveness to GnRH was abolished by DHT. Taken together, these findings suggest that the physiological significance of the stimulatory action of progesterone could be to define the final magnitude of the LH preovulatory surge, while the inhibition by DHT could be required to limit the LH surge to that day of proestrus.Key words: luteinizing hormone, gonadotrophin-releasing hormone, steroid hormones, cultured pituitary cells.


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.


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


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


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