Action potentials and release of neurohypophysial hormones in vitro

Jean Jacques Dreifuss · I. Kalnins · John S. Kelly · K. B. Ruf

148 citations0/0 files storedThe Journal of Physiology

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Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research Cellular transport and secretion

Abstract

1. Isolated rat neurohypophyses were studied in vitro and the hormones released on electrical stimulation of the pituitary stalk or on exposure to excess potassium were estimated by a milk-ejection assay.2. The stalk was stimulated with trains of 500 stimuli, or multiples thereof, applied at different frequencies. Below frequencies of ca. 35 c/s, hormone release was found to depend on the total number of stimuli applied as well as on the frequency of stimulation. Above ca. 35 c/s, identical numbers of stimuli were progressively less effective as the frequency of stimulation was increased, and the dependence of the hormone output on the total number of stimuli was less apparent.3. The amplitude of the compound action potential recorded from the neurohypophysis following electrical stimulation of the stalk was found to decrease as a function of the frequency of stimulation. Stimulation at 50 c/s reduced its amplitude about sevenfold within 30 sec.4. The addition of tetrodotoxin (TTX) to the incubation media abolished the compound action potential recorded from the neural lobe as well as the release of hormones evoked by electrical stimulation. Resting release, however, was unaffected by TTX.5. In TTX-treated neural lobes, excess potassium was still effective in eliciting graded secretory responses. This indicates the independence of the release process from the action potential generating mechanism and suggests that TTX-paralysed preparations represent a useful model for the study of hormone release in the absence of conducted action potentials.6. The release of hormones from the neurohypophysis and the release of neurotransmitters at chemical synapses both depend on the entry of calcium into the nerve terminals following their depolarization by invading action potentials. In both systems, experimental separation of the release mechanism can be achieved by the use of TTX. These and other parallels suggest that the release process is similar.

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References

1964Stimulus—secretion coupling in a neurosecretory organ: the role of calcium in the release of vasopressin from the neurohypophysis 1964Calcium movement in the neurohypophysis of the rat and its relation to the release of vasopressin

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1975Factors governing the periodic activation of supraoptic and paraventricular neurosecretory cells during suckling in the rat.1982The milk ejection reflex in the pig 1996Changes in the Electrical Properties of Supraoptic Nucleus Oxytocin and Vasopressin Neurons during Lactation 1997Nitric Oxide Inhibits Neuronal Activity in the Supraoptic Nucleus of the Rat Hypothalamic Slices 1982Dopaminergic modulation of evoked vasopressin release from the isolated neurohypophysis of the rat

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