Differential penetration of three anterior pituitary peptide hormones into the cerebrospinal fluid of rhesus monkeys

This paper demonstrates marked differences between blood levels and those in the CSF for three anterior pituitary peptide hormones, prolactin, luteinizing hormone (LH) and adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) in the rhesus monkey. CSF levels of endogenous prolactin (measured by radioimmunoassay) are about 20% of those in the blood, and this proportion remains constant under conditions of persistent ('steady-state') hyperprolactinaemia (induced by injecting sulpiride). Acutely elevating prulactin, by either an intravenous injection of exogenous ovine prolactin, or sulpiride, resulted in similar rates of entry by prolactin into the CSF, suggesting that retrograde portal flow is not an important mechanism. LH, measured by bioassay, is also present in the CSF, but the CSF/blood ratio is 5-10 times less than for prolactin. Castration, causing blood LH levels to rise, resulted in equivalent changes in CSF, so that the ratio remains constant, though still much lower than for prolactin. There are significant correlations between individual animals in the blood and CSF content of prolactin and LH. In marked contrast, whilst ACTH is found (by cytochemical assay) in the CSF of both intact and adrenalectomized monkeys, no significant change in CSF levels occurs despite 10-fold changes in the plasma of adrenalectomized animals following withdrawal of cortisol. Nor is there any correlation between blood and CSF ACTH levels over a wide range of concentrations. These results show that each of the three peptides studied has a distinct pattern of entry into the CSF from the vascular compartment.