The Posterior Pituitary: Regulation of Anterior Pituitary Prolactin Secretion

Removal of the posterior pituitary from anesthetized male rats results in a prompt and significant increase in circulating prolactin that is reversed by the injection of dopamine. Posterior pituitary extracts, which contain high concentrations of endogenous dopamine, inhibit prolactin secretion from...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1981-08, Vol.213 (4508), p.659-661
Main Authors: Peters, Luanne L., Hoefer, Michael T., Ben-Jonathan, Nira
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anterior pituitary
Blood
Blood plasma
Cells, Cultured
Dopamine - pharmacology
Dopamine - physiology
Endocrinology
Hormones
Liver
Luteinizing Hormone - metabolism
Male
Oxygen
Pituitary gland
Pituitary Gland, Posterior - physiology
Pituitary hormones
Posterior pituitary
Pregnancy induced hypertension
Prolactin - metabolism
Rats
Secretion
Secretory Rate - drug effects
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Removal of the posterior pituitary from anesthetized male rats results in a prompt and significant increase in circulating prolactin that is reversed by the injection of dopamine. Posterior pituitary extracts, which contain high concentrations of endogenous dopamine, inhibit prolactin secretion from isolated anterior pituitary cells. This inhibition is prevented by incubation of the cells with the dopamine receptor antagonist (+)-butaclamol. The data show that posterior pituitary dopamine reaches the anterior pituitary via the short hypophysial portal vessels and participates in the regulation of prolactin secretion.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.7256264