Cimetidine-induced prolactin release in rats. The effect of sex and gonadal steroids.

The cimetidine-induced plasma Prl response was examined in rats of both sexes. First, 10 week old intact adult males and females (dioestrous) were compared. There was no significant difference in the Prl response to cimetidine between the two groups, despite the fact that in adult females the anterior pituitary Prl content was 4 times greater than in males. Second, the effect of gonadal state in adult age on the Prl response to cimetidine was examined in both sexes. In male rats, gonadectomy at the age of 6 weeks significantly reduced the plasma Prl response as well as the pituitary Prl content, both of which were sufficiently restored by testosterone replacement. However, in females, neither gonadectomy at the age of 6 weeks nor subsequent oestradiol replacement affected the Prl response to cimetidine, despite the fact that gonadectomy significantly reduced and oestradiol treatment significantly enhanced the pituitary Prl content. Third, possible permanent effects of the postnatal gonadal milieu on the cimetidine-induced Prl response and the pituitary Prl content were examined in both sexes by castration at varying postnatal ages. The ratio of plasma Prl response to pituitary Prl content was similar in all castrated males. In females, however, the ratio decreased with increasing castration age. In conclusion, the mechanism of cimetidine-induced Prl release is less sex-dependent than are the mechanisms of Prl release by other Prl secretagogues. First, this may be due to a minor role of oestrogen in females in determining the Prl response to cimetidine. Second, the postnatal ovarian secretions may exert a permanent inhibition of the development of the cimetidine-mobilized anterior pituitary Prl pool.