Differential regulation of hypothalamic tuberoinfundibular dopamine neurones in two dwarf rat models with contrasting changes in pituitary prolactin.

In transgenic growth-retarded (Tgr) rats, expression of human growth hormone (hGH) is targeted to hypothalamic GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) neurones. In these rats, GHRH is reduced and somatostatin expression is increased, resulting in secondary GH deficiency and dwarfism. Tgr rats also show reduced pituitary prolactin (PRL), which may reflect an additional lactogenic feedback action of the hGH transgene, analogous to that in mice transgenic for peripheral hGH which show enhanced dopamine (DA) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in the hypothalamic tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic (TIDA) neurones that inhibit PRL secretion. The present study examined DA histofluorescence and TH immunoreactivity in Tgr rats, and also in dw/dw rats, a dwarf strain with primary pituitary GH but not PRL deficiency. Radioimmunoassay confirmed a significant decrease in total pituitary PRL content in Tgr rats, but showed a marked increase in total pituitary PRL in dw/dw rats. Despite their PRL deficiency, Tgr rats showed qualitatively increased TIDA histofluorescence and TH immunoreactivity compared with AS control rats, though the total number of detectable TH-positive TIDA neurones was similar for Tgr and AS. In contrast, dw/dw rats showed increased numbers of TH-immunoreactive TIDA neurones whilst TIDA fluorescence was unchanged, and these findings were not affected in dw/dw rats given bovine GH (200 microg/d s.c. for 7 d). These results suggest that reduced PRL in Tgr rats is due to a local lactogenic feedback effect of hGH to stimulate TIDA neurones. The complex changes in TIDA neurones probably reflect a combination of increased lactogenic feedback in Tgr rats, with an increased (Tgr) or decreased (dw/dw) somatogenic feedback on GHRH neurones, some of which coexpress TH. Thus, the unchanged number of TIDA neurones in Tgr rats may result from hGH stimulation of TH and DA, but a reduction in GHRH-producing cells, whereas increased TIDA neurones in dw/dw rats suggests a stimulation by endogenous PRL with an increased GHRH cell complement due to GH deficiency. These findings therefore indicate that differences in lactogenic feedback in these dwarf rat models are reflected in marked differences in their hypothalamic TIDA neurones.