Cholecystokinin antagonist, proglumide, stimulates growth hormone release in the rat.

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have revealed a stimulatory action of cholecystokinin on growth hormone release in the rat. To evaluate the physiologic significance of these effects we employed the cholecystokinin antagonist, proglumide and injected it intravenously and intraventricularly (third cerebral ventricle, 3V) to determine its actions on growth hormone. The experiments were performed in conscious, freely moving rats with indwelling cannulae in the 3V and/or external jugular vein. Intraventricular injection of 2 or 10 μg of proglumide significantly elevated plasma growth hormone concentrations in intact and castrated male rats and in ovariectomized females. Intravenous injections of 10 or 100 μg of proglumide were also effective in elevating growth hormone in a dose-related manner. Surprisingly, the response to the lower dose given intraventricularly was somewhat greater than that of the higher dose. We speculate that these stimulatory effects of proglumide given intraventricularly are due to the agonist action of proglumide at these doses since action of cholecystokinin itself is to increase plasma growth hormone following its intraventricular injection. The studies therefore do not establish a physiologically significant growth hormone-releasing action of brain cholecystokinin but provide more evidence that activation of cholecystokinin receptors in the brain can induce a stimulation of growth hormone release either by activation of the release of growth hormone-releasing hormone or by inhibition of the release of somatostatin or by a combination of these two actions.