Effects of galanin on the secretion and proliferative activity of the immature and regenerating adrenal glands of rats

The effects of galanin and the galanin-receptor antagonist (galanin-A) D-Thr(6),D-Trp(8,9),15-ol]-galanin(1-15) on the immature and regenerating rat adrenal glands have been investigated in vivo. Adult female rats with adrenal regeneration and their offpring (20-day-old) were given three subcutaneous injections (28, 16, and 4 h before being killed) of 2 nmol/100 g galanin and/or galanin-A, and 0.1 mg/100 g vincristin 3 h before being killed. Plasma corticosterone concentration was measured by radioimmunoassay, and the mitotic index ( per thousand of metaphase-arrested cells) was evaluated. In immature rats, galanin increased plasma corticosterone concentration, without affecting mitotic index; the secretagogue effect was reversed by galanin-A, which alone was ineffective. In rats with regenerating adrenal, galanin-A increased both blood level of corticosterone and mitotic index; galanin was ineffective, but blocked the effects of galanin-A. These findings allowed us to draw the following conclusions: 1) galanin exerts a moderate glucocorticoid secretagogue action on immature rat adrenals, but endogenous galanin does not play a major physiological role in the functional control of the gland; and 2) endogenous galanin exerts a maximal tonic inhibitory control on both glucocorticoid secretion and proliferative activity of regenerating rat adrenals, whose physiological relevance remains to be investigated.