title: Acetylcholine stimulates growth hormone secretion in the neonatal rat pituitary.
abstract: The direct effect of acetylcholine on pituitary growth hormone secretion during the postnatal period of the rat was studied using a superfusion system. Acetylcholine elicited a dose related stimulatory effect on growth hormone (GH) secretion in the pituitaries from 2-day old rats. M1 muscarinic agonist McN A343 mimicked the GH releasing effect of acetylcholine, nicotine was ineffective. The GH release elicited by acetylcholine diminished with postnatal development, it was small by the end of the third postnatal week and was not demonstrable in the adult pituitaries. The effect of acetylcholine was potently antagonized by pirenzepine (M1 antagonist) and 4-DAMP (M3 and M1 antagonist) but not by methoctramine (M2 antagonist). It is concluded that unlike in the adult, in the newborn rat the cholinergic regulation of pituitary GH secretion plays a prominent role directly at pituitary level most likely via M1 receptors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pintér
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Makara
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Acs
mesh_terms: D008455:(4-(m-Chlorophenylcarbamoyloxy)-2-butynyl)trimethylammonium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001285:Atropine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003959:Diamines / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D010276:Parasympatholytics / Q000494:pharmacology; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D010890:Pirenzepine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D003959:Diamines; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D010276:Parasympatholytics; D010880:Piperidines; D010890:Pirenzepine; D008455:(4-(m-Chlorophenylcarbamoyloxy)-2-butynyl)trimethylammonium Chloride; D001285:Atropine; C042375:4-diphenylacetoxy-1,1-dimethylpiperidinium; D013006:Growth Hormone; D000109:Acetylcholine; C054938:methoctramine