title: Priming of the anterior pituitary with corticotropin-releasing hormone in vitro does not facilitate an ACTH response to interleukin-1 beta.
abstract: Stimulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis by the cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) is an important facet of the functional interaction between the endocrine and immune systems. IL-1 beta can act by releasing corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from the hypothalamus, but it has also been proposed to act directly at the anterior pituitary when the pituitary has been primed with CRH. We tested this hypothesis using in vitro experiments in which anterior pituitaries were primed with low doses of CRH. We were unable to demonstrate a direct effect of IL-1 beta on the release of ACTH from freshly harvested anterior pituitary tissue. Neither continuous nor discontinuous priming of the cells with CRH or arginine vasopressin, at concentrations by themselves insufficient to cause ACTH release, facilitated an ACTH response to IL-1 beta. Therefore our data do not support the hypothesis that IL-1 beta can have a direct effect upon ACTH release from the anterior pituitary primed with CRH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol Royal Infirmary, UK.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jessop
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Lightman
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone