Growth hormone-releasing factor-induced growth hormone secretion from perifused rat anterior pituitary cells: lack of influence of glucose concentration, and normal responses in pituitary cells from diabetic animals

The mechanism responsible for the suppression of GH secretion in hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia in rats has been investigated using perifusion of anterior pituitary cells. When perifused with Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate containing normal (5 mmol/l), high (20 mmol/l) and low (1 mmol/l) concentrations of glucose, the GH responses to GH-releasing factor (GRF) were 85 +/- 5, 85.5 +/- 5.4 and 89 +/- 3.0 (S.E.M.)% respectively compared with the initial response to GRF at 5 mmol/l in each column. The mean GH response to GRF from anterior pituitary cells of normal rats was 6.58 +/- 0.88 micrograms/three pituitaries, which was not statistically different form that of cells from rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes (5.40 +/- 0.68 micrograms/three pituitaries). It is concluded that GH suppression in diabetic rats and during hypoglycaemia is not mediated by changes in the GH response to GRF.