Regulation of hypothalamic beta-endorphin and dynorphin release by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF).

Synthetic rat-human corticotropin releasing-factor (CRF), in doses between 10(-12) M and 10(-8) M, significantly stimulates the release of immunoreactive beta-endorphin and dynorphin-A from rat hypothalamic slices superfused in vitro. With prolonged exposure to CRF, there is a reduction in the release of both opioids which can be reversed by the addition of naloxone. The latter result indicates the involvement of autoregulatory mechanisms in the control of opioid neuronal function.