Ghrelin increases intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration in the various hormone-producing cell types of the rat pituitary gland.
Ghrelin, isolated from the stomach as an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), has potent growth hormone release ability in vivo and in vitro. Although GHS-R is abundantly expressed in the pituitary gland, there is no direct evidence of a relationship between hormone-producing cells and functional GHS-R in the pituitary gland. The aim of this study was to determine which anterior pituitary cells respond to ghrelin stimulation in male rats. We performed Fura-2 Ca(2+) imaging analysis using isolated pituitary cells, and performed immunocytochemistry to identify the type of pituitary hormone-producing cells. In Fura-2 Ca(2+) imaging analysis, ghrelin administration increased the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration in approximately 50% of total isolated anterior pituitary cells, and 20% of these cells strongly responded to ghrelin. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that 82.9 ± 1.3% of cells that responded to ghrelin stimulation were GH-immunopositive. On the other hand, PRL-, LH-, and ACTH-immunopositive cells constituted 2.0 ± 0.3%, 12.6 ± 0.3%, and 2.5 ± 0.8% of ghrelin-responding pituitary cells, respectively. TSH-immunopositive cells did not respond to ghrelin treatment. These results suggest that ghrelin directly acts not only on somatotrophs, but also on mammotrophs, gonadotrophs, and corticotrophs in the rat pituitary gland.
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Division of Life Science, Area of Regulatory Biology, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-ohkubo, Saitama 338-8570, Japan.
Mami
M
Yamazaki
Sayaka
S
Aizawa
Toru
T
Tanaka
Takafumi
T
Sakai
Ichiro
I
Sakata
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D016257:Fura-2; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010903:Pituitary Gland, Anterior / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D010908:Pituitary Hormones, Anterior / Q000378:metabolism*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin / Q000378:metabolism
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D054439:Ghrelin; D010908:Pituitary Hormones, Anterior; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin; D011388:Prolactin; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone; D013006:Growth Hormone; D002118:Calcium; D016257:Fura-2