LH release is facilitated by agents that alter cyclic AMP-generating system

The issue of whether the adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-generating system contributes to luteinizing hormone (LH) release was addressed by using several complementary probes in vitro. Pertussis toxin is considered to modify covalently an inhibitory adenylate cyclase regulatory protein. Treatment of gonadotrophs with this toxin increased both basal LH release and the efficacy of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-stimulated LH release with no apparent effect on GnRH potency. Cholera toxin, which probably activates adenylate cyclase by covalently altering another regulatory protein, forskolin, which directly stimulates the catalytic subunit of adenylate cyclase, and the cAMP analogue 8-Br-cAMP amplified both basal LH release (in a dose-dependent manner) and GnRH-stimulated LH release after a lag of 1 (cholera toxin and 8-Br-cAmP) and 4 (forskolin) h. It is noteworthy that these belated effects occurred in spite of the fact that cellular cAMP accumulation was markedly increased within 30 min after cholera toxin and at 1 min after forskolin addition. There was no change in total radioimmunoassayable LH (cellular + released) in either the basal or GnRH-treated cells after cholera toxin and forskolin for up to 24 h. Finally, the forskolin-amplified LH release was reversible and calcium dependent because D-600, EDTA, and calcium-free medium inhibited this effect. These results, generated with three complementary probes that affect integral proteins of the adenylate cyclase complex, suggest a function for cAMP in modulating LH release.