Dynamics of thyrotropin-releasing hormone-induced thyrotropin and prolactin secretion by acutely dispersed rat adenohypophyseal cells. Evidence for 'all-or-none' secretion by heterogeneous secretory units, each with a specific response threshold.

We have examined the dynamics of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-stimulated secretion of prolactin (PRL) and thyrotropin-stimulating hormone (TSH) using enzymatically dispersed rat adenohypophyseal cells suspended in a perfusion chamber with a volume of 0.2 ml to minimize mixing and dilution. One-min exposure to 3-300 nM TRH, the effective dose range, elicited immediate pulses of PRL and TSH secretion with dose-dependent amplitudes. At all TRH concentrations, following a brief burst of secretion lasting less than 1 min, release of both hormones declined precipitously. Increasing the duration of stimulation up to 30 min with half-maximal TRH concentrations did not alter the dynamics of the initial response and was ineffective in maintaining the initial amplitude of secretion. This phenomenon could not be attributed to exhaustion of readily releasable intracellular PRL and TSH, since an increment in TRH concentration elicited a second pulse of hormone secretion with temporal response characteristics identical to the first. The amplitude of the second pulse was dependent on both the initial concentration of TRH and the magnitude of the increment in TRH concentration. With a stepwise increase in TRH concentration during continuous perfusion, the sum of PRL or TSH secreted from all bursts of secretory activity approximated that achieved with a single exposure to the highest concentration of TRH employed. The high-amplitude secretory response to a given concentration of TRH was restored after an 8-min perfusion with medium alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Hypochlorite radioiodination of parathyroid peptides (hPTH1-34, [Tyr43]hPTH44-68).

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) radioimmunoassays have conventionally utilized [125I]bPTH1-84 as a radioligand, but more region-specific PTH assays are now possible with the use of recently available synthetic PTH peptides as standards and radioligands. A radioiodination procedure has been developed that utilizes hypochlorite as an oxidant and that is capable of producing PTH tracers of high specific activity (200 to 250 microCi/micrograms), prolonged stability, and excellent immunologic potency. Radioiodinated hPTH1-34 and [Tyr43]hPTH44-68 produced by hypochlorite iodination techniques can be used to develop sensitive and region-specific PTH assays of use in clinical and research situations.

Comparison of hyposmolar and hyperosmolar effects on in vitro luteinizing hormone secretion by anterior pituitary cells.

It has previously been described that perifusion of acutely dispersed adenohypophyseal cells with hypotonic medium causes an immediate high-amplitude "on" burst of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. In the present report the converse study with hyperosmolar solutions has been made. Perifusion with hypertonic medium depressed LH secretion; return to isotonicity caused an immediate high-amplitude "off" burst of LH secretion closely resembling that induced by hypotonic perifusion. The data give further support to the theory that exocytotic secretion may involve expansion of the outer cell membrane, thus drawing secretory granules to the cell surface where their contents are extruded.

Hyposmolar stimulation of in vitro pituitary secretion of luteinizing hormone: a potential clue to the secretory process.

Diluting the perifusion medium with water caused a striking prompt increase in LH secretion from perifused, acutely dispersed adenohypophseal cells. The minimum effective proportion of water was 4%; the quantity of hormone secreted was proportional to the dilution of the medium up to greater than 50% water. Secretion was not induced if the dilution was made with 5% aqueous mannitol to maintain isotonicity. The LH secretory responses to hyposmolarity or to LHRH were qualitatively indistinguishable. We suggest that expansion of the outer cell membrane may be an important initial component of the mechanism of secretion from adenohypophyseal cells.