title: Purification and identification of pituitary cytotropic factor.
abstract: It has been shown that the pituitary contains a cytotropic factor (CTF) that stimulates the secretion of catecholamines by dopaminergic neurons of the hypothalamus. In the present study, CTF was purified from rat pituitaries and found by means of mass spectrometric analysis to be adenosine. This finding was corroborated by the observations that CTF behaves identically to adenosine when subjected to liquid chromatography, is inactivated and converted to inosine by adenosine deaminase, and is qualitatively and quantitatively indistinguishable from adenosine in its biological activity. It is concluded that pituitary adenosine is a trophic factor for hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9032, USA.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Ijames
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Markey
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D016716:PC12 Cells; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D000241:Adenosine