Effect of pituitary transplants on the LH-RH concentrations in the medial basal hypothalamus and hypophyseal portal blood.

The effects of hyperprolactinemia on catecholamine turnover in the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) and on the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) concentrations in MBH and hypophyseal portal blood were investigated in female Wistar rats. Chronic endogenous hyperprolactinemia was produced by implantation of anterior pituitary glands under the kidney capsule. Catecholamine turnover in the MBH was studied by inhibiting monoamine oxidase and then measuring the accumulation of catecholamines by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Rats bearing pituitary transplants exhibited: (1) persistent vaginal diestrus within 3-6 days of the implantation; (2) increased serum concentrations of prolactin (PRL); (3) decreased serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH); (4) increased pituitary concentrations of LH and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH); (5) increased turnovers of dopamine in the MBH; and (6) decreased concentrations of LH-RH in the MBH and in plasma of hypophyseal portal blood. These findings suggest that chronic hyperprolactinemia may increase dopaminergic tone in the MBH that may inhibit LH-RH secretion from the MBH, and LH release from the pituitary. These processes may be responsible for disturbances of cyclic pituitary-ovarian activity.