Abstract
ABSTRACT: Desacetyl α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) (ACTH 1–13) is the main form of immunoreactive α-MSH circulating in human plasma. This study evaluates the possibility that a dopaminergic inhibitory mechanism could be operative during human development. Thus, α-MSH and ACTH 1–13 plasma levels were measured after dopaminergic blockade (domperidone (0.3 mg/kg body weight, maximum 10 mg, p.o.) in 13 prepubertal (aged 4.5–12.3 y) and 12 pubertal (aged 10.2–16.9 y) children. Both peptides were measured by RIA after plasma extraction on Sep-pak C-18 cartridges and reverse phase HPLC. The chromatographic profile of α-MSH immunoreactivity falls into two main peaks, corresponding to the retention time of α-MSH and ACTH 1–13. Moreover, in prepubertal children domperidone induced a significant increase of α-MSH from 1.7 (median) to 5.0 pmol/L, whereas no changes in α-MSH plasma levels were found in pubertal subjects (from 5.0 to 4.1 pmol/L). Similarly, ACTH 1–13 plasma levels significantly increased from 3.0 to 19.8 pmol/L in prepubertal children remaining stable in pubertal ones (from 7.8 to 4.6 pmol/L). Moreover, a significant negative correlation was found between basal DHEA-S levels and the plasma α-MSH increase after domperidone. These data demonstrate that: 1) ACTH 1–13 is the main form of immunoreactive α-MSH in prepubertal life and 2) the dopaminergic inhibition of both ACTH 1–13 and α-MSH plasma levels is apparent only in prepubertal subjects.
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Facchinetti, F., Bernasconi, S., Iughetti, L. et al. Changes in Dopaminergic Control of Circulating Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone-Related Peptides at Puberty. Pediatr Res 38, 91–94 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199507000-00016
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199507000-00016