Sex difference in LH response to LHRH and DBcAMP and effect of testosterone.

Because luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) stimulates both pituitary cAMP production and LH release, cAMP has been implicated in the action of LHRH on LH release. The effects of LHRH and DBcAMP on LH release were tested in 4-h incubations with pituitary cultures prepared from male or female rats. LH contents in medium and cells were separately determined by radioimmunoassays. LH release in response to 10 nM LHRH was significantly greater in cultures prepared from female rats (female-RPC) than in cultures prepared from male rats (male-RPC), 1,070 and 418% of control, respectively. Addition of DBcAMP (3, 5, or 10 mM) significantly stimulated LH release by female-RPC (212, 206, or 286% of control, respectively) but did not affect LH release in male-RPC. Furthermore, DBcAMP significantly increased the cellular LH content in female- but not in male-RPC. Testosterone pretreatment of female-RPC significantly lowered the LHRH-induced LH release but did not affect the DBcAMP-induced LH release. These data indicate that testosterone may contribute to the sex difference in pituitary LH response to LHRH but not to DBcAMP.