Mechanism of the inhibitory action of dopamine and somatostatin on prolactin secretion from human lactotrophs in culture.

In an attempt to delineate the mechanism(s) of PRL secretion from human lactotrophs, the effects of dopamine and somatostatin on PRL release from adenomatous and nonadenomatous human pituitary cells in culture was studied. High K+ and the divalent cation ionophore A23187 both elevated PRL secretion, which was blocked by dopamine and somatostatin. When the cells were incubated in low calcium medium, PRL secretion was significantly inhibited. The addition of dopamine or somatostatin to low calcium medium further decreased PRL release. The stimulatory action of ionophore A23187 on PRL release was found even in the absence of extracellular calcium. Theophylline and isobutylmethylxanthine, when added to the incubation medium, increased PRL secretion, and dopamine as well as somatostatin again inhibited PRL release induced by phosphodiesterase inhibitors. No qualitative difference in these PRL responses was found in adenomatous and nonadenomatous human lactotrophs. In prolactinoma cells obtained from three different patients, cAMP generation was correlated with hormone release. Exposure of the cells to dopamine or somatostatin resulted in a parallel decrease in intracellular cAMP content and PRL secretion. The inhibitory effect of dopamine on PRL secretion and cAMP accumulation was blocked by coincubation of the cells with haloperidol. These results suggest that an increase in cytosol calcium caused by either mobilization from intracellular calcium pools or influx from the extracellular compartment and intracellular cAMP accumulation may be involved in the mechanism of PRL secretion from human lactotrophs, and dopamine and somatostatin may influence these two messengers to suppress PRL secretion.