Changes in responsiveness of dispersed pituitary cells to luteinizing hormone releasing hormone at different times of the oestrous cycle of the rat.

Dispersed pituitary cells obtained from female rats with regular oestrous cycles were suspended in Bio-Gel columns and perfused with pulses of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH). There was a close relationship between the amount of LH released and the concentration of LH-RH in the perfusate. It was not possible to elicit the priming effect of LH-RH, but the LH-response changed markedly during the oestrous cycle in a manner similar to that seen in vivo; i.e. the responses of cells prepared from rats killed at pro-oestrus were much greater than the responses of cells prepared from rats killed on other days of the cycle. A similar change in responsiveness was obtained when the columns were perfused with 60 mmol K+/1, suggesting that at least part of the increase in pituitary responsiveness that occurs at pro-oestrus is not dependent upon changes in specific receptors for LH-RH.