title: NMDA receptors in the medial zona incerta stimulate luteinizing hormone and prolactin release.
abstract: 1. The aim of the present work is to demonstrate the interaction between the glutamatergic/NMDA and dopaminergic systems in the medial zona incerta on the control of luteinizing hormone and prolactin secretion and the influence of reproductive hormones. 2. Proestrus and ovariectomized rats were primed with estrogen and progesterone to induce high or low levels of luteinizing hormone and prolactin. 2-Amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid, an NMDA receptor antagonist, and dopamine were injected in the medial zona incerta. Blood samples were withdrawn every hour between 1,600 and 2,000 hours or 2,200 hours via intracardiac catheter from conscious rats. Additional groups of animals injected with the NMDA receptor antagonist were killed 1 or 4 h after injection. Dopamine and its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid were measured in different hypothalamic regions. 3. 2-Amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid blocked the ovulatory luteinizing hormone surge in proestrus rats. 2-Amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid also blocked the increase in luteinizing hormone induced by ovarian hormones in ovariectomized rats, an effect that was partially reversed by dopamine injection. Conversely, the increased release of luteinizing hormone and prolactin induced by dopamine was prevented by 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid. We found that the NMDA antagonist injection decreased the dopaminergic activity--as evaluated by the 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid/dopamine ratio--in the medio basal hypothalamus and increased in the preoptic area. 4. Our results show an stimulatory role of NMDA receptors on the ovulatory luteinizing hormone release and on luteinizing hormone release induced by sexual hormones and demonstrate that the stimulatory effect of dopamine on luteinizing hormone and prolactin is mediated by the NMDA receptors. These results suggest a close interaction between the glutamatergic and dopaminergic incertohypothalamic systems on the control of luteinizing hormone and prolactin release.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Investigaciones Neuroquímicas, Comportamentales y Endócrinas, Unidad de Neuroquímica y Farmacología del Comportamiento, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina. bregonzc@intra.nimh.nih.gov
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bregonzio
authors.forename: Griselda N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Ricardo J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Alfredo O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Donoso
mesh_terms: D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D030762:Estrous Cycle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D010060:Ovulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011374:Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D011388:Prolactin / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D020530:Subthalamus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D011374:Progesterone; D011388:Prolactin; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D004298:Dopamine