Dopaminergic regulation of the estrogen-induced glandular kallikrein in the rat anterior pituitary.

Glandular kallikrein is a major estrogen-induced protein of the rat anterior pituitary. A second kallikrein-like protease in the rat anterior pituitary (kallikrein A) is not affected by estrogens, nor is a third pituitary protease which cleaves a trypsin substrate but not kallikrein substrates. This study examined whether any of the pituitary proteases are regulated by dopaminergic mechanisms. Ovariectomized female rats were treated for 5-10 days with reserpine (a catecholamine depleting agent), haloperidol (a dopamine receptor blocker) or bromocriptine (a dopamine receptor agonist); some rats also received 1 or 2 micrograms estradiol benzoate every 48 h. Following activation of latent proteases with trypsin, anterior pituitary extracts were assayed for kallikrein activity before and after fractionation on DEAE-Sephadex to separate the two kallikrein-like proteases. Reserpine or haloperidol doubled glandular kallikrein levels in anterior pituitaries from estrogen-treated rats. Reserpine or haloperidol had little or no effect in the absence of estrogen (estrogen produced a 5- to 7-fold increase in glandular kallikrein in the absence of drug treatment). Bromocriptine markedly attenuated the ability of estrogen to induce glandular kallikrein. Further, bromocriptine blocked the ability of reserpine to increase glandular kallikrein levels, and haloperidol attenuated the effect of bromocriptine. Other anterior pituitary proteases were unaffected by either estrogen, haloperidol, reserpine or bromocriptine. The results demonstrate that the estrogen induction of glandular kallikrein in the rat anterior pituitary is modulated by inhibitory dopaminergic mechanisms. Prolactin is the only pituitary hormone which exhibits a similar profile of hormonal and neuroendocrine regulation; this suggests a possible link between glandular kallikrein and prolactin.