Agents that decrease gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor internalization do not inhibit GnRH-mediated gonadotrope desensitization.

Exposure of pituitary cell cultures to GnRH causes gonadotropin release, receptor capping, internalization, and loss as well as altered responsiveness of the target cell. In the present study, the relationship between loss of gonadotrope secretory responsiveness to GnRH (desensitization) and internalization of the GnRH-receptor complex was examined. Pituitary cell cultures were pretreated (30 min) with vinblastine (100 microM, a concentration that prevents measurable receptor internalization) or with medium containing carrier only, incubated with 10(-7) M GnRH (a desensitizing concentration) with or without vinblastine or with medium alone for 60 min, and finally washed and rechallenged for 3 h with increasing concentrations of GnRH to assess the degree of desensitization as determined by LH release. Results indicate that vinblastine had no measurable effect on the ability of GnRH to stimulate LH release or desensitize the cells. In a second series of studies, a GnRH analog (D-Lys6-GnRH) was immobilized to a cross-linked agarose matrix. The covalent link was shown to be stable by biological, immunological, and physical criteria. This product bound to the GnRH receptor and provoked LH release, but was not internalized, as determined by GnRH receptor binding assays. Cultured cells were treated with either 10(-9) M free analog or an equivalent concentration of coupled analog (as measured by LH release) for 3 h. Cells were washed, then rechallenged with GnRH to assess desensitization. Both the free and coupled analogs provoked an equivalent degree of desensitization. While a significant degree of desensitization also occurred in the presence of 3 mM EGTA (conditions that totally inhibited GnRH-stimulated LH release), the loss of responsiveness was not as great as in the absence of EGTA, indicating that partial depletion of available LH may play a role in GnRH-stimulated gonadotrope desensitization. The present findings suggest that GnRH receptor internalization and LH release can be uncoupled and that loss of the GnRH receptor by internalization is not a sufficient explanation for GnRH-mediated desensitization of the gonadotrope.