Stimulation of ACTH secretion by indomethacin and reversal by exogenous prostaglandins

The prostaglandin (PG) synthesis inhibitor, indomethacin, has been found to enhance adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) secretion upon injection directly into the anterior pituitary at a dose that is ineffective intravenously. Such stimulation was observed in combination with, and in the absence of, stimulation by a corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) preparation. It was reversed to varying degrees by replacing certain PGs exogenously. It is suggested that endogenous PGs in the anterior pituitary participate in the modulation of the sensitivity of this gland to the hypothalamic neurohormone, CRF.     

Hypothalamic and pituitary effects of prostaglandins on ACTH secretion

Various prostaglandins (PGs) were tested for their effects on ACTH secretion upon injection into the anterior pituitary, basomedial hypothalamus, basolateral hypothalamus, or a tail vein in anesthetized female rats. In some experiments, the PGs were injected in combination with a CRF preparation. The greatest effect seen was the stimulation of ACTH (and presumably CRF) secretion exerted at the basomedial hypothalamus. At the anterior pituitary, the PGs alone were without effect, but they did decrease the magnitude of the response to subsequent CRF.     

Hypothalamic and pituitary effects of prostaglandins on ACTH secretion.

Various prostaglandins (PGs) were tested for their effects on ACTH secretion upon injection into the anterior pituitary, basomedial hypothalamus, basolateral hypothalamus, or a tail vein in anesthetized female rats. In some experiments, the PGs were injected in combination with a CRF preparation. The greatest effect seen was the stimulation of ACTH (and presumably CRF) secretion exerted at the basomedial hypothalamus. At the anterior pituitary, the PGs alone were without effect, but they did decrease the magnitude of the response to subsequent CRF.     

Inhibition of pituitary adenylate cyclase by atrial natriuretic factor

The effect of synthetic rat atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) on adenylate cyclase activity was studied in rat anterior and posterior pituitary homogenates. ANF (Arg 101-Tyr 126) inhibited adenylate cyclase activity in anterior and posterior pituitary homogenates in a concentration dependent manner. The maximum inhibitions observed were 42% in anterior pituitary with an apparent Ki of 10(-10) M, and 25% with an apparent Ki of 10(-11) M in posterior pituitary. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and prostaglandins (PGE1) stimulated adenylate cyclase to various degrees in anterior pituitary homogenates and ANF inhibited the stimulatory effect of all these hormones. In addition ANF was also able to inhibit the stimulation exerted by NaF and forskolin which activate adenylate cyclase by receptor independent mechanism. Similarly, the stimulatory effects of N-Ethylcarboxamide adenosine (NECA), NaF and forskolin on adenylate cyclase in posterior pituitary homogenates were also inhibited by ANF. This is the first study demonstrating the inhibitory effect of ANF on pituitary adenylate cyclase.     

Characteristics of action of prostaglandins on cyclic AMP accumulation in rat anterior pituitary gland.

Prostaglandins (PGs) were found to lead to a marked stimulation of cyclic AMP accumulation in rat anterior pituitary gland in vitro in the following decreasing order of potency: PG E-1 E-2 GREATER THAN A-1 A-I GREATER THAN F-1ALPHA F-2ALPHA. The effect of PGs is potentiated by theophylline. The stimulatory effect of PGs on cyclic AMP accumulation is already detected 2min after the addition of 1-x 10-7 to 1-x 10-6 M PG E-2 and its maximal effect is reached after approximated 30 min of incubation, with a progressive decrease toward basal cyclic AMP levels at later time intervals. Increased intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations are accompanied by an increased release of the nucleotide into incubation medium. Complete removal of Ca-e+ from the incubation medium by addition of EGTA was found to increase the stimulatory effect of PG E-2 ON CYCLIC AMP accumulation. The action of PGs on hormonal release and cyclic AMP accumulation support the hypothesis of a role of PGs in the mechanism of anterior pituitary hormone (particularly growth hormone) release.     

Mechanisms of action of corticotropin-releasing factor and other regulators of corticotropin release in rat pituitary cells

The role of cyclic AMP in the stimulation of corticotropin (ACTH) release by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), angiotensin II (AII), vasopressin (VP), and norepinephrine (NE) was examined in cultured rat anterior pituitary cells. Synthetic CRF rapidly stimulated cyclic AMP production, from 4- to 6-fold in 3 min to a maximum of 10- to 15-fold at 30 min. Stimulation of ACTH release by increasing concentrations of CRF was accompanied by a parallel increase in cyclic AMP formation, with ED50 values of 0.5 and 1.3 nM CRF for ACTH and cyclic AMP, respectively. A good correlation between cyclic AMP formation and ACTH release was also found when pituitary cells were incubated with the synthetic CRF(15-41) fragment, which displayed full agonist activity on both cyclic AMP and ACTH release with about 0.1% of the potency of the intact peptide. In contrast, the CRF(21-41) and CRF(36-41) fragments were completely inactive. The other regulators were less effective stimuli of ACTH release and caused either no change in cyclic AMP (AII and VP) or a 50% decrease in cyclic AMP (NE). Addition of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, methylisobutylxanthine, increased the sensitivity of the ACTH response to CRF but did not change the responses to AII, VP, and NE. In pituitary membranes, adenylate cyclase activity was stimulated by CRF in a dose-dependent manner with ED50 of 0.28 nM, indicating that the CRF-induced elevation of cyclic AMP production in intact pituitary cells is due to increased cyclic AMP biosynthesis. The intermediate role of cyclic AMP in the stimulation of ACTH release by CRF was further indicated by the dose-related increase in cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity in pituitary cells stimulated by CRF with ED50 of 1.1 nM. These data demonstrate that the action of CRF on ACTH release is mediated by the adenylate cyclase-protein kinase pathway and that the sequence requirement for bioactivity includes the COOH-terminal 27 amino acid residues of the molecule. The other recognized regulators of ACTH release are less effective stimuli than CRF and do not exert their actions on the corticotroph through cyclic AMP-dependent mechanisms.     

Corticotropin releasing factor stimulates cAMP formation in pituitary corticotropic tumor cells

Addition of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) to membranes from two ACTH-secreting pituitary tumors strikingly increased in a dose-dependent fashion adenylate cyclase (AC) activity. Significant stimulation was already apparent at 10(-9)M CRF. Stimulation of AC activity by CRF in membranes from non-tumoral tissue adjacent to tumoral corticotrophs was considerably lower, and was lacking in membranes from a growth hormone secreting tumor. These data correlated well with in vivo pre-surgery and post-surgery ACTH responsiveness to CRF of the tumor bearing patients. Basal AC activity was higher in pituitary adenomas than in non-tumoral adjacent tissue. It is concluded that 1) a CRF-sensitive AC exists in ACTH-secreting tumor cells and, 2) increased sensitivity to CRF, as evidenced by greater stimulation of AC activity, may be responsible for the increased ACTH output of tumoral corticotrophs.     

The cellular actions of vasopressin on corticotrophs of the anterior pituitary: resistance to glucocorticoid action

The cellular actions of vasopressin (AVP) in the anterior pituitary were investigated. HPLC analysis of [3H]inositol-labeled cells indicated that AVP stimulated a rapid increase in inositol-1,4,5 trisphosphate (IP3), inositol-1,4 bisphosphate, and inositol-4 monophosphate levels. While CRF had no effect on basal IP3 levels, it blocked their stimulation by AVP. CRF-stimulated ACTH secretion and cAMP accumulation were potentiated by AVP. AFter dexamethasone (DEX) treatment (20 nM, 18 h), CRF-dependent ACTH secretion and cAMP accumulation were attenuated but AVP was still able to potentiate both of these actions of CRF suggesting that cellular actions of AVP may be resistant to DEX effects. Therefore, [3H]AVP binding was determined in control and DEX-treated cells. Pretreatment with DEX had no effect on either AVP receptor affinity or on the number of available binding sites. Consistently, stimulation of IP3 production by AVP in DEX-treated cells was comparable to that of control cells. Protein kinase C activators such as 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate and dioctanoylglycerol were either near additive with CRF or also potentiated the action of CRF on ACTH secretion, respectively, even after DEX pretreatment. These results indicate that, in the anterior pituitary, distinct intracellular signaling pathways mediate the actions of CRF and AVP; cAMP mediates CRF actions and IP3/protein kinase C mediate the effects of AVP. Neuromodulation of ACTH secretion by dual effector mechanisms which exhibit a complex mode of interaction and only one of which is negatively influenced by glucocorticoids, provides these cells a mechanisms by which appropriate responses can be elicited under various physiological states.     

Identification and characterization of a pituitary corticotropin-releasing factor binding protein by chemical cross-linking

A corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) binding protein has been identified based on the chemical cross-linking of ovine [Nle21,m-125I-Tyr32]CRF (125I-oCRF) to bovine anterior pituitary membranes using disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS). The apparent molecular weight of the cross-linked complex determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography was approximately 75,000 and was slightly decreased in its nonreduced state, suggesting the presence of intramolecular disulfide bonds. Subtracting the molecular weight of 125I-oCRF, the binding protein appeared to have a molecular weight of approximately 70,000. The cross-linking was specific since an excess (1 microM) of an unrelated peptide (insulin) did not affect the appearance of the Mr 75,000 band. The concentration of CRF required to inhibit cross-linking by 50% was found to be similar to that determined for bovine pituitary CRF receptors by radioreceptor assay. The nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate dose dependently inhibited the cross-linking of 125I-oCRF to the Mr 70,000 protein. 50 nM of the inactive CRF analogue, [Ala14]oCRF, had no effect on the cross-linking, an observation which is consistent with this compound's low potencies in bioassays and radioreceptor assays. These results strongly suggest that this Mr 70,000 protein is the biological bovine anterior pituitary CRF receptor.     

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors in intermediate lobe of the pituitary: biochemical characterization and autoradiographic localization

CRF receptors were characterized using radioligand binding and chemical affinity cross-linking techniques and localized using autoradiographic techniques in porcine, bovine and rat pituitaries. The binding of 125I-[Tyr0]-ovine CRF (125I-oCRF) to porcine anterior and neurointermediate lobe membranes was saturable and of high affinity with comparable KD values (200-600 pM) and receptor densities (100-200 fmoles/mg protein). The pharmacological rank order of potencies for various analogs and fragments of CRF in inhibiting 125I-oCRF binding in neurointermediate lobe was characteristic of the well-established CRF receptor in anterior pituitary. Furthermore, the binding of 125I-oCRF to both anterior and neurointermediate lobes of the pituitary was guanine nucleotide-sensitive. Affinity cross-linking studies revealed that the molecular weight of the CRF binding protein in rat intermediate lobe was identical to that in rat anterior lobe (Mr = 75,000). While the CRF binding protein in the anterior lobes of porcine and bovine pituitaries had identical molecular weights to CRF receptors in rat pituitary (Mr = 75,000), the molecular weight of the CRF binding protein in porcine and bovine intermediate lobe was slightly higher (Mr = 78,000). Pituitary autoradiograms from the three species showed specific binding sites for 125I-oCRF in anterior and intermediate lobes, with none being apparent in the posterior pituitary. The identification of CRF receptors in the intermediate lobe with comparable characteristics to those previously identified in the anterior pituitary substantiate further the physiological role of CRF in regulating intermediate lobe hormone secretion.     

The influence of indomethacin on the acth secretion induced by central stimulation of adrenergic receptors.

We had previously demonstrated that indomethacin affected the corticosterone secretion induced by central stimulation of alpha-but not beta-adrenergic receptors in conscious rats. In the present study we investigated whether hypothalamic and/or pituitary prostaglandins (PGs) were involved in the central adrenergic stimulation of ACTH secretion. Indomethacin, 2 mg/kg ip or 10 microg intracerebroventricularly (icv), was administered 15 min before phenylephrine (30 microg icv), an alpha-adrenergic agonist, clonidine (10 microg), an alpha2-adrenergic agonist, and isoprenaline (20 microg) or clenbuterol (10 microg), a beta1- or beta2-adrenergic agonist. One hour after the last injection the rats were decapitated and plasma levels of ACTH were measured. The present results show that the ACTH responses induced by icv administration of phenylephrine and clonidine were considerably impaired by icv or ip pretreatment with indomethacin, an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis. Indomethacin given by either route only slightly diminished the isoprenaline-induced ACTH response and did not substantially alter the clenbuterol-induced response. The adrenergic-induced ACTH responses were more potently inhibited by ip than by icv pretreatment with indomethacin, which may result from a stronger inhibition of PGs synthesis in the median eminence and anterior pituitary by ip pretreatment with indomethacin than in hypothalamic structures by its icv administration. These results indicate a significant involvement of PGs in central stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis by alpha1- and alpha2- but not beta-adrenergic receptors.     

Site of calcium requirement for stimulation of ACTH release in rat anterior pituitary cells in culture by synthetic ovine corticotropin-releasing factor

Synthetic ovine corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) causes a 6- to 8-fold stimulation of ACTH release and cAMP accumulation in rat anterior pituitary cells in culture at ED50 values of 1 and 4 nM, respectively. Removal of Ca2+ from the incubation medium reduces CRF-induced ACTH release by 70% but have no effect on cyclic AMP accumulation. ACTH release induced by 8-Br-cAMP is inhibited by 65% in the absence of Ca2+. The Ca2+ ionophore A23187 does not alter spontaneous ACTH release. Verapamil, a pharmacological agent that blocks Ca2+ entry into cells, has no influence on spontaneous or CRF-induced ACTH release. The present data clearly demonstrate a role of Ca2+ in CRF action at a step subsequent to cAMP formation and suggest that Ca2+ is mobilized from intracellular stores during CRF stimulation.     

Endocytosis of the vasopressin receptor by anterior pituitary cells is increased by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)

Endocytosis of certain receptors such as the transferrin receptor and the EGF-receptor appears to be influenced by second messengers. If second messengers are involved in modulation of endocytosis, not only endocytosis of the stimulated receptor itself but also of receptors for other ligands on the cell surface may be influenced by receptor occupancy. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin act synergistically on secretion of ACTH from the anterior pituitary. The results presented here demonstrate that CRF increases retrieval of the vasopressin receptor in anterior pituitary cells in primary culture without influencing the surface binding of vasopressin. This is not a function of an increased membrane turnover since endocytosis of the transferrin receptor is not influenced by CRF.     

Properties and regulation of high-affinity pituitary receptors for corticotropin-releasing factor

Specific receptors for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) were identified in the rat anterior pituitary gland by binding studies with 125I-Tyr-CRF. Binding of the labeled CRF analog to pituitary particles was rapid and temperature-dependent, and reached steady state within 45 min at 22 degrees C. The CRF binding sites were saturable and of high affinity, with dissociation constant (Kd) of 0.76 X 10(-9) M. Pituitary binding of 125I-Tyr-CRF was inhibited by CRF, Tyr-CRF and the active 15-41 fragment of CRF, but not by the inactive 21-41 CRF fragment and unrelated peptides. The binding-inhibition potencies of the CRF peptides were similar to their activities as stimuli of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release. The high-affinity CRF sites were markedly reduced in adrenalectomized rats, and this change was reversed by dexamethasone treatment. These data indicate that the high-affinity CRF sites demonstrated in the anterior pituitary are the functional receptors which mediate the stimulatory action of the peptide on ACTH release, and that CRF receptors are down-regulated during increased secretion of the hypothalamic hormone.     

Inhibition of CRF- and urotensin I-stimulated ACTH release from goldfish pituitary cell columns by the CRF analogue alpha-helical CRF-(9-41)

alpha-Helical CRF-(9-41) is an analogue of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) that antagonizes CRF-stimulated ACTH release in rats. In the present study, alpha-helical CRF-(9-41) was tested to determine whether it would antagonize the ACTH-releasing activity of CRF or urotensin I (UI) observed with superfused, dispersed goldfish anterior pituitary cells. At a concentration of 4 microM, alpha-helical CRF-(9-41) completely blocked the ACTH-releasing activity of 100 nM CRF or 100 nM UI. The inhibitor by itself showed little intrinsic ACTH-releasing activity. This investigation reveals similarities in the CRF-antagonism of alpha-helical CRF-(9-41) in the teleost and mammalian pituitary in vitro. It also provides are similar and suggests that alpha-helical CRF-(9-41) may be useful as a tool to investigate the effects of CRF-like and UI-like peptides in teleost fishes.     

The biosynthesis and secretion of adrenocorticotropin by the ovine anterior pituitary is predominantly regulated by arginine vasopressin (AVP). Evidence that protein kinase C mediates the action of AVP

This study was undertaken to define the roles of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in the regulation of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) release and biosynthesis in cultured ovine anterior pituitary cells and to define the intracellular mechanisms responsible for their action. At 4 h, CRF and AVP increased both ACTH release and total ACTH content, with AVP clearly the more potent agonist (maximal ACTH release: AVP, 22.8-fold; CRF, 7.6-fold; maximal increment in total ACTH content: AVP, 1.9-fold; CRF, 1.1-fold; EC50 for ACTH release: AVP, 2.3 +/- 0.5 nM; CRF, 9.2 +/- 5.0 nM). The increase in total ACTH content was interpreted to reflect an augmentation of ACTH biosynthesis since it was abolished by 10 microM cycloheximide. Exposure of the anterior pituitary cells to increasing concentrations of forskolin or 8-bromo-cAMP elicited increases in ACTH release and total ACTH content that were similar to those caused by CRF. A 30-min incubation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) caused a dose-related translocation of protein kinase C from the cytosol to the cell membrane; after 4 h, the increases in ACTH release and total ACTH content in response to increasing concentrations of PMA were similar to those caused by AVP. Chronic (24 h) exposure to 150 nM PMA caused an almost total depletion of both cytosolic and membrane-bound protein kinase C activities. When protein kinase C-depleted cells were subsequently exposed to AVP, the increases in ACTH release and total ACTH content were markedly attenuated, but the responses to CRF were preserved. Finally, the combination of CRF and AVP, CRF and PMA, or AVP and 8-bromo-cAMP increased ACTH release and total ACTH content in a synergistic manner. We conclude that: 1) in ovine anterior pituitary cells, AVP is the predominant regulator of ACTH secretion and biosynthesis; 2) the action of AVP is predominantly mediated by activation of protein kinase C, whereas the action of CRF is likely to be mediated by activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A); and 3) the ability of CRF and AVP to increase total ACTH content and secretion in a synergistic manner provides a demonstration in normal pituitary cells that protein kinases C and A may interact in a unidirectional manner to regulate ACTH biosynthesis in addition to ACTH release. This interaction may take place within, or between, individual corticotropes.     

低氧对CRF,AVP和NE刺激体外培养腺垂体细胞生成cAMP的影响

本文探讨了ＣＲＦ,ＡＶＰ及ＮＥ对体外培养大鼠腺垂体细胞生成ｃＡＭＰ的作用。ＣＲＦ刺激体外培养大鼠腺垂体细胞内ｃＡＭＰ的生成,且浓度与效应正相关。ＡＶＰ未引起细胞内ｃＡＭＰ差异性变化（Ｐ＞０．５）。ＮＥ使培养腺垂体细胞内ｃＡＭＰ水平降低。低氧使ＣＲＦ刺激ｃＡＭＰ生成的作用降低。而ＡＶＰ及ＮＥ可能是通过其它胞内信息通路。     

Site of inhibitory action of CRE 9-41 on ACTH release from isolated rat pituitary cells

The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) analog CRF 9-41 inhibits CRF, but not forskolin or dibutyryl cyclic AMP, stimulated release of ACTH from isolated pituitary cells. CRF 9-41 also blocks CRF-stimulated accumulation of cyclic AMP in a parallel dose dependent fashion. CRF 9-41 has no effect on basal ACTH release or cAMP levels. This substantiates that the analog acts as a direct CRF antagonist and that the site of this inhibition is most likely at the level of binding of CRF to its receptor on the corticotrope. Various substances, including most prominently glucocorticoids, inhibit release of ACTH from the pituitary. In an effort to develop another class of inhibitors, Rivier et al recently synthesized analogs of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). One among these, alpha-helical ovine CRF 9-41 blunts adrenalectomy and stress induced ACTH release in non-anesthetized rats. At micromolar concentrations, CRF 9-41, shifts rightward the dose response of isolated pituitary cells to ovine CRF. Thus, the authors suggested that CRF 9-41 acts as a competitive antagonist to CRF-induced ACTH secretion. CRF appears to act through stimulation of adenylate cyclase. To determine the potential site of action of CRF 9-41 in the activation sequence for adenylate cyclase, we studied its effects on pituitary cyclic AMP formation and ACTH secretion from dispersed anterior pituitary cells derived from normal adult rats, as well as, its interaction with cyclic nucleotide agonists.     

The brain corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor is of lower apparent molecular weight than the CRF receptor in anterior pituitary. Evidence from chemical cross-linking studies

The ligand binding subunits of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors in brain and anterior pituitary of a number of species have been identified by chemical affinity cross-linking using the homobifunctional cross-linking agent disuccinimidyl suberate and 125I-Tyr0-oCRF (ovine CRF). In homogenates of rat, monkey, and human cerebral cortex, 125I-Tyr0-oCRF was covalently incorporated into a protein of Mr = 58,000. Under identical conditions in the anterior pituitary of rat, monkey, cow, and pig, 125I-Tyr0-oCRF was incorporated into a protein of apparent Mr = 75,000. The specificity of the labeling was typical of the CRF binding site since both the cerebral cortex- and pituitary-labeled proteins exhibited the appropriate pharmacological rank order profile characteristic of the CRF receptor (Nle21,Tyr32-oCRF approximately equal to rat/human CRF approximately equal to ovine CRF approximately equal to alpha-helical CRF(6-41) greater than alpha-helical oCRF(9-41) greater than or equal to oCRF(7-41) greater than rat/human CRF(1-20) approximately equal to vasoactive intestinal peptide). In addition to the major labeled proteins, 125I-Tyr0-oCRF was incorporated into higher molecular weight peptides which may represent precursors and into lower molecular weight components which may represent fragments of the major labeled proteins or altered forms of the CRF binding subunit. In summary, these data indicate a heterogeneity between brain and pituitary CRF receptors with the ligand binding subunit of the brain CRF receptor residing on a Mr = 58,000 protein, while in the anterior pituitary, the identical binding subunit resides on a protein of apparent Mr = 75,000.