Because of difficulties encountered in setting up radioimmunoassays for cholecystokinin (CCK) a sensitive and reliable biological method for estimating this hormone is still needed. The principles of such a biological technique and an improvement to it have already been described, but the serum levels of CCK reported were high and the technique required further refinement and validation.

The strips of rabbit gall-bladder used to estimate the concentration of CCK increased in sensitivity to standard solutions of CCK over a 6–8 h period before stabilizing, but a single sample of serum increased the sensitivity of the strips of gall-bladder to their maximum immediately. These two problems were eliminated by 'priming' the strips of gall-bladder by exposure to two serum samples before exposure to the standard solutions used for production of a dose–response curve.

Thirdly, it was discovered that some non-peptide substances in serum possessed CCK-like activity; by extracting all the small peptides from serum with dextran-coated charcoal the residual activity could be measured and subtracted from the total CCK activity. Finally, the activity of CCK in the serum increased during processing before freezing. This increase was eliminated by taking the blood samples into aprotinin which has been shown to cause dramatic reduction in CCK activity in some experiments.

When all these factors were taken into account and the technique suitably modified, the mean level of CCK in the serum of ten normal fasting subjects was found to be 28 milli Ivy Dog units/ml (2·4 pmol/ml), which is only one third of that reported previously.

ABSTRACT

Groups of adult male rats were treated continuously for 30 days with either vehicle or the potent gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist, (N-Ac-d-Nal(2)¹,d-pCl-Phe²,d-Trp³,d-hArg (Et₂)⁶,d-Ala¹⁰)-GnRH (RS 68439; 35 μg/day). In addition, groups of vehicle- and antagonist-treated rats received s.c. testosterone implants sufficient to maintain serum testosterone concentrations 3·5- to 5-fold higher than those of vehicle-treated control rats. After 30 days of antagonist treatment serum LH, FSH and testosterone concentrations were at or below the detection limits of their respective assays and pituitary FSH content and GnRH receptor binding were reduced, relative to control animals, by 77 and 98% respectively. Testis weight in antagonist-treated rats was reduced by 75% and spermatogenesis was suppressed to an extent comparable to that observed in hypophysectomized rats. Testosterone, which caused a 40% reduction in serum FSH relative to control animals, prevented the antagonist-induced fall in both serum and pituitary FSH, but not GnRH receptors, below that observed in the vehicle plus testosterone-treated group. Furthermore, spermatogenesis in the antagonist plus testosterone-treated group was indistinguishable from that observed in control animals. It is concluded that testosterone is capable of maintaining serum and pituitary FSH levels in vivo, under conditions which presumably render the pituitary insensitive to hypothalamic GnRH.

J. Endocr. (1986) 108, 101–107

ABSTRACT

The multifactorial control of ACTH is well established. We wished to establish and characterize an in-vitro perifusion system, using equine anterior pituitary cells and physiological concentrations of secretagogues, to investigate factors which affect the dynamics of ACTH secretion. Anterior pituitary tissue was divided for dispersion into cells with collagenase, trypsin or dispase, or by mechanical dispersion. After dispersal followed by 18-h incubation, cells were perifused and the ACTH response to 10-min pulses of arginine vasopressin (AVP; 100 nmol/l), corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH; 0·01 nmol/l), and AVP (100 nmol/l) plus CRH (0·01 nmol/l) determined. ACTH responses to these secretagogues were lower (P <0·05) in cells prepared using the enzymes dispase and trypsin than with the enzyme collagenase. Cells prepared by mechanical methods were not responsive. Collagenase-prepared cells were used in subsequent experiments.

In dose-response studies (10-min pulse length), a steep CRH–ACTH dose-response curve was obtained with the minimum effective concentration of CRH between 0·001 and 0·01 nmol/l, and a maximum effective concentration of 1·0 nmol/l. A less steep AVP–ACTH dose-response curve was obtained with a minimum effective concentration of AVP between 0·5 and 5 nmol/l, and no plateau in response up to 5000 nmol AVP/l. Increasing the incubation time between cell preparation and stimulation with AVP from 18 h to 90 h significantly (P <0·01) increased the ACTH response. Repeated stimulation by AVP (100 nmol/l) or CRH (0·01 nmol/l) (5-min pulses every 30 min for 23 pulses) produced ACTH responses which decreased in an approximately exponential curve with time.

When AVP and CRH were given at physiological concentrations, pulse lengths and pulse frequency, the ACTH response to repeated 1-min pulses of AVP, measured as height above basal secretion, was potentiated by the addition of CRH (1, 2·5, 5, 10 and 20 pmol/l) as a constant perifusion at all AVP concentrations tested (1 nmol AVP/l, P < 0·02; 10 nmol AVP/l, P <0·0005; 25 nmol AVP/l, P <0·0005). During the 1-min AVP pulse, the AVP concentration at the level of the cells was 30% of the expected concentration. Potentiation was increased both by increasing AVP concentration (P <0·00005) and by increasing CRH concentration (P <0·00005) up to 5 pmol CRH/l. The ACTH height response to repeated AVP stimulation significantly (P = 0·0034) decreased with time, independent of CRH and AVP concentration. There was a significant (P = 0·014) decrease in ACTH response to CRH infusion with time, independent of CRH concentration.

We conclude that the responsiveness of pituitary cells is markedly influenced by the preparative techniques. The collagenase-dispersed cells, in the in-vitro perifusion system developed, responded to secretagogues which were given at physiological concentrations, pulse lengths and periods. The system thus fulfills our requirements of in-vitro responses reflecting those observed in vivo, and can therefore be used to investigate the multifactorial control of ACTH secretion further.

Journal of Endocrinology (1993) 137, 391–401

ABSTRACT

Gonadal steroids can act both indirectly via gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and directly on the pituitary to regulate gonadotrophin subunit gene expression. Recent studies to assess a possible direct action at the pituitary have shown that testosterone, when given to males in the absence of endogenous GnRH action, selectively increases FSH-β mRNA concentrations. Conversely, in females, oestradiol appears to regulate gonadotrophin subunit mRNAs primarily via GnRH. The present study was designed to determine whether these differing results reflect specific actions of the gonadal steroids themselves or different responses of the pituitary gonadotroph cells in males and females.

Rats which had been castrated 7 days earlier were given silicone elastomer implants (s.c.) containing oestradiol (plasma oestradiol 68 ± 4 ng/l) in males or testosterone (plasma testosterone 3·5 ± 0·3 μg/l) in females in the absence or presence of a GnRH antagonist. Seven days later pituitaries were removed and steady-state mRNA concentrations measured by dotblot hybridization. In males, oestradiol reduced LH-β and FSH-β but not α mRNA. The antagonist reduced levels of all three subunit mRNAs in males and the addition of oestradiol had no further effect, suggesting that oestradiol regulates gonadotrophin subunit gene expression in males by suppressing GnRH secretion. In females, testosterone reduced all three subunit mRNAs though FSH-β remained threefold higher than in intact animals. The GnRH antagonist was as effective as testosterone alone and reduced α and LH-β to levels found in intact animals. FSH-β mRNA was partially reduced by antagonist alone in ovariectomized females but the addition of testosterone increased FSH-β twofold versus antagonist alone (as has been observed in males). These findings, together with earlier data, suggest that testosterone increased FSH-β twofold versus antagonist alone (as has been observed in males). These findings, together with earlier data, suggest that testosterone reduces gonadotrophin subunit mRNAs by inhibiting GnRH secretion and also acts directly on the gonadotroph to increase steady-state FSH-β mRNA concentrations in both males and females.

Journal of Endocrinology (1992) 132, 39–45

ABSTRACT

We have previously shown that a pulsatile gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulus can increase steady-state levels of α and LH-β subunit mRNAs in the male rat pituitary. Since α subunit is produced in both thyrotroph and gonadotroph cells, the effect of GnRH specifically on gonadotroph α gene expression is uncertain. To address this tissue, adult male rats were given injections of tri-iodothyronine (T₃; 20 μg/100 g body wt, i.p.) daily for 8 days (day 8 = day of death) in order to decrease thyrotroph α mRNA levels (+ T₃ group). Saline injections (i.p.) were given to control animals (− T₃ group). Three days before GnRH administration, the animals were castrated and testosterone implants inserted s.c., to inhibit endogenous GnRH secretion. GnRH pulses (25 ng/pulse; 30-min interval) were given to freely moving animals (saline pulses to controls) via an atrial cannula for 12, 24 or 48 h. Serum LH and FSH were measured before and 20 min after the last GnRH pulse. Pituitary RNA was extracted and α, LH-β, FSH-β and prolactin mRNA levels were determined by dot-blot hybridization using ³²P-labelled cDNA probes.

Castration and testosterone replacement reduced α and LH-β mRNA levels by 30 and 40% respectively, compared with levels in untreated intact males, but did not decrease FSH-β concentrations. T₃ administration further decreased α mRNA to 30% of values seen in intact males, but LH-β mRNA levels were unchanged. FSH-β mRNA concentrations were decreased by 23% in T₃-treated rats (P < 0·05 vs intact controls). In −T₃ rats, 12 h of GnRH pulses increased FSH-β mRNA levels (twofold) vs saline-pulsed controls, but significant increases in α or LH-β mRNA levels were not seen until after 24 h of GnRH pulses. In the +T₃ group, an increase in α mRNA was observed earlier, after 12 h of GnRH pulses. After 24 and 48 h of GnRH, the increments in α and LH-β were of similar magnitude in both the +T₃ and − T₃ groups (4–5 and 3–4 fold increases in α and LH-β respectively; P < 0·05 vs saline-pulsed controls). In contrast, the stimulatory effect of GnRH on FSH-β mRNA was lost in + T₃ animals after 48 h of pulses.

In order to examine whether this loss in FSH-β mRNA responsiveness to GnRH was related to an inhibitory interaction of T₃ in the presence of testosterone, a second study was conducted in castrated animals. The results showed that α mRNA levels were decreased by 33% in +T₃ compared with −T₃ castrated animals (P < 0·05), but LH-β and FSH-β mRNAs were unaffected by T₃ administration. In castrated animals given GnRH pulses, T₃ inhibited subunit mRNA responses and this effect was most marked for FSH-β mRNA. In contrast, prolactin mRNA levels were significantly higher (P < 0·05) in all +T₃ experimental groups compared with their −T₃ controls. These data indicate that T₃ can inhibit FSH-β mRNA responses to pulsatile GnRH and that this action occurs in the absence of testosterone.

Journal of Endocrinology (1989) 122, 117–125

Abstract

The effects of a recombinant human GH-binding protein (rhGHBP; amino acids 1–238) on GH stimulation of rat Nb2 lymphoma cells were examined with an eluted stain assay system (ESTA). This precise bioassay utilizes the colorimetric reduction by stimulated Nb2 cells of a yellow tetrazolium salt (3-[4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) to a purple formazan as its end-point. The use of a lactogenic bioassay allowed the investigation of hGHBP specificity for human GH (hGH) as opposed to prolactin. rhGHBP inhibited pituitary hGH bioactivity in a dose-dependent manner. No significant inhibition of prolactin or ACTH bioactivity occurred. It was confirmed that recombinant 20 kDa hGH also stimulated the Nb2 cells and that its relative potency was ∼ 10% of that of pituitary-derived hGH. Stimulation by 20 kDa hGH was also inhibited by rhGHBP. The highly quantitative ESTA system demonstrated that the binding protein inhibited in a competitive manner. hGH activation of the Nb2 cells did not appear to be governed by a Michaelian first-order reaction. As might then be anticipated, the concentration of rhGHBP required for 50% inhibition of GH bioactivity (IC₅₀) changed with agonist concentrations for both 20 kDa and 22 kDa hGH. However, with equimolar concentrations of these two isohormones, the IC₅₀ of the binding protein was virtually identical. Potentiation of hGH bioactivity in vivo by low concentrations of hGHBP has been reported but was not observed in our in vitro system when tested over a wide range of binding protein concentrations.

In conclusion, the ESTA bioassay system permitted a detailed characterization of the inhibition of hGH bioactivity by rhGHBP. The hormonal specificity confirms earlier radioligand binding studies, except that we found that the 20 kDa hGH variant interacts with the rhGHBP.

Journal of Endocrinology (1994) 140, 445–453

Human offspring encounter high amounts of phytoestrogens, such as genistein (GEN), through maternal diet and soy-based formulas. Such chemicals can exert estrogenic activity and thereby disrupt neurobehavioral programming. Besides inducing direct host effects, GEN might cause gut dysbiosis and alter gut metabolites. To determine whether exposure to GEN affects these parameters, California mice (Peromyscus californicus) dams were placed 2 weeks prior to breeding and throughout gestation and lactation on a diet supplemented with GEN (250 mg/kg feed weight) or AIN93G phytoestrogen-free control diet (AIN). At weaning, offspring socio-communicative behaviors, gut microbiota and metabolite profiles were assayed. Exposure of offspring to GEN-induced sex-dependent changes in gut microbiota and metabolites. GEN exposed females were less likely to investigate a novel female mouse when tested in a three-chamber social test. When isolated, GEN males and females exhibited increased latency to elicit their first call, suggestive of reduced motivation to communicate with other individuals. Correlation analyses revealed interactions between GEN-induced microbiome, metabolome and socio-communicative behaviors. Comparison of GEN males with AIN males revealed the fraction of calls above 20 kHz was associated with daidzein, α-tocopherol, Flexispira spp. and Odoribacter spp. Results suggest early GEN exposure disrupts normal socio-communicative behaviors in California mice, which are otherwise evident in these social rodents. Such effects may be due to GEN disruptions on neural programming but might also be attributed to GEN-induced microbiota shifts and resultant changes in gut metabolites. Findings indicate cause for concern that perinatal exposure to GEN may detrimentally affect the offspring microbiome–gut–brain axis.