Neurotensin in the rat anterior pituitary gland: effects of endocrinological manipulations.

Neurotensin-like immunoreactivity was detected by radioimmunoassay in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland of several mammalian species, including man. In the rat, pituitary stalk transection did not change the content of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity. Surgical and chemical thyroidectomy produced a drastic reduction of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in the anterior pituitary gland, whereas adrenalectomy and gonadectomy were without an effect and the decrease consequent to thyroidectomy was restricted to the pituitary gland. These results suggest an interaction between neurotensin and the hypothalamus/pituitary/thyroid axis at the level of the anterior pituitary gland.