-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
I. SIMONOVIC, M. MOTTA,, L. MARTINI, Acetylcholine and the Release of the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone-Releasing Factor, Endocrinology, Volume 95, Issue 5, 1 November 1974, Pages 1373–1379, https://doi.org/10.1210/endo-95-5-1373
Close - Share Icon Share
The possible participation of cholinergic inputs in the release of FSH-RF has been studied using an in vitro approach. Halved anterior pituitaries (AP) of normal adult male rats have been incubated for 4 hr either alone or in the presence of hypothalamic fragments (HF). Atthe end of the incubation period FSH has been evaluated using a biological assay both in the media and in the AP tissue. AP halves, when incubated alone, release a small amount of FSH. The addition of HF to the media containing AP tissue brings about a significant increase of the amounts of FSH released. A.cetylcholine (Ach) added to the incubation flasks containing only AP tissue does not increase FSH output over that of AP incubated without Ach. On the contrary, Ach significantly enhances FSH release when added to the incubation media of flasks containing both AP tissue and HF. Atropine, an anticholinergic drug, has no effect on the release of FSH from APincubated alone. Atropine totally prevents the release of FSH normally induced by the presence of HF when added to the combined cultures of AP and HF. The addition of atropine to the incubation media containing the halved AP, HF and Ach counteracts only partially the effect of Ach. Prostigmine, an inhibitor of cholinesterases which usually potentiates the effects of Ach, does ot modify the release of FSH when added to flasks containing either AP tissue alone, or AP tissue plus HF.
Ach, when added to the media containing AP tissue alone, does not change the final concentration of FSH in the gland. On the contrary, a significant decrease of the amounts of FSH remaining in the gland has been observed when AP tissue has been incubated in the presence of HF, or of HF plus Ach. These data suggest that the hypothalamus is able to release in vitro a factor (ost probably FSH-RF) which increases the release of FSH from the incubated halved pituitaries, and that the release of this factor from the hypothalamus is enhanced by the addition of Ach. (Endocrinology95: 1373, 1974)
