The release of growth hormone (GH) and cAMP was studied in superfused rat pituitary cells by infusing growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) at different doses or a combination of GHRH and somatostatin 14 . Threeminute pulses ofGHRH caused a dose-dependent GH and cAMP release (effective concentration of 50% of the maximal biological effect is 0.21 nM and 52.5 nM, respectively). The lowest effective doses of GHRH in the superfusion system were 0.03 nM for GH release and 0.3 nM for cAMP discharge when 3-min pulses were applied. The secretion of growth hormone (GH) from the somatotrophs of the pituitary gland is controlled primarily by two hypothalamic peptide hormones, growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin 14 (SS-14). GHRH not only stimulates the secretion of GH from the anterior pituitary, but it also stimulates adenylate cyclase activity and cAMP production. Numerous studies support the hypothesis that the effect of GHRH is mediated by cAMP (1-4). Previous investigations on the role of cAMP in the GHRH-induced GH release were carried out in static incubation systems by using freshly dispersed or cultured pituitary cells. In most cases only the intracellular changes in cAMP were detected at different intervals after stimulation. Extracellular discharge of cAMP was determined in a few cases (4-6); however, the release of cAMP in a dynamic system has not been previously examined in parallel with GH release. The aim of our study was to investigate the time course of both GH and cAMP secretion in a superfusion system after infusing GHRH or a combination of GHRH and SS-14 at different doses.
MATERIALS AND METHODSPeptides. Human GHRH-(1-29)NH2 (DBO-2-048-1) was synthesized and purified in our laboratory. SS-14 was obtained from Wyeth.Superfusion. The preparation of the cells and the superfusion system have been described (7,8). Two or three columns, each containing pituitary cells from three male SpragueDawley rats (180-220 g) were perfused simultaneously. Sample collection was started immediately with 9-min samples in the first 90 min of the experiments and 3-min samples, thereafter. The flow rate was 20 ml/h. The test samples were prepared from the stock solutions immediately before use. The void volume of the system was calibrated to 1 ml. The cells were stimulated with 3-min pulses of GHRH (from 0.01 nM to 10 ,M). The desensitizing effect of GHRH was examined during 2-h infusions of 0.1 nM or 1 nM GHRH. To avoid the oxidation of GHRH in the tissue culture medium, test samples were freshly diluted every 15 min during the 2-h period. The results are based on 10 independent experiments, and similar experimental designs were repeated 2-5 times.RIAs. GH was determined by RIA with materials provided by the National Hormone and Pituitary Program (NHPP, Rockville, MD) (ratGH-RP-2/AFP-3910B/, ratGH-I-6/AFP-5676B/, and anti-ratGH-RIA-5/AFP-411S/). For cAMP determination, the samples were acetylated with triethylamine/acetic anhydride (2:1; 25 ,ul per 500 ,ul of sample), and 2'-O-monosuccinyl-cAMP ...