Abstract
Immunohistochemical studies have shown the existence of synapses between nerve endings containing dopamine and gonadotropin releasing hormone (LH-RH) respectively in the hypothalamic median eminence1. It is generally accepted that this transmitter is involved in the regulation of gonadotropin secretion as a modulator of LH-RH release, although the evidence is conflicting and both inhibitory and excitatory actions of dopamine have been reported2,3. In vitro studies support the excitatory effect and low doses of dopamine have been shown to release LH-RH from incubated hypothalamic fragments4,5 and synaptosomes6. This report describes studies with nerve endings isolated from the rat hypothalamus in which dopamine at higher concentrations than those used previously has been found to stimulate the degradation of LH-RH but not thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH). This mechanism seems to be physiological in that it is calcium-dependent, requires the structural integrity of the nerve endings and fluctuates with the reproductive state of the animal.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajika, K. J. Anat. 128, 331–347 (1979).
Fuxe, K. et al. in Clinics in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Vol. 5 (2) (ed. Tyson, J. E.) 251–269 (Saunders, London, 1978).
Ojeda, S. R. & McCann, S. M. in Clinics in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Vol. 5 (2) (ed. Tyson, J. E.) 283–303 (Saunders, London, 1978).
Rotszstein, W. H., Charli, J. L., Pattou, E., Epelbaum, J. & Kordon, C. Endocrinology 99, 1663–1666 (1976).
Rotszstein, W. H., Charli, J. L., Pattou, E. & Kordon, C. Endocrinology 101, 1475–1483 (1977).
Bennett, G. W., Edwardson, J. A., Holland, D., Jeffcoate, S. L. & White, N. Nature 257, 323–325 (1975).
McKelvy, J. F. et al. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 73, 507–515 (1976).
Porter, J. C., Barnea, A., Cramer, O. M. & Parker, C. R. Jr. in Clinics in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Vol. 5 (2) (ed. Tyson, J. E.) 271–282 (Saunders, London, 1978).
Matthews-Bellinger, J. & Saltpeter, M. M. J. Physiol., Lond. 279, 197–213 (1978).
Marks, N. in Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology (eds Ganong, W. F. & Martini, L.) 329–377 (Raven, New York, 1978).
Renaud, L. P., Martin, J. B. & Brazeau, P. Nature 255, 233–235 (1975).
Moss, R. L., Dudley, C. A., Foreman, M. M. & McCann, S. M. in Hypothalamic Hormones (eds Motta, M., Crosignani, P. G. & Martini, L.) 269–278 (Academic, London, 1975).
Bennett, G. W. & Edwardson, J. A. J. Endocr. 65, 33–44 (1975).
Barnea, A., Ben-Jonathan, N. & Porter, J. C. J. Neurochem. 27, 477–484 (1976).
Jeffcoate, S. L., Fraser, H. M., Holland, D. T. & Gunn, A. Acta endocr. 75, 625–635 (1974).
Jeffcoate, S. L., Fraser, H. M., Gunn, A. & White, N. J. Endocr. 59, 191–192 (1973).
Jeffcoate, S. L., Holland, A. T., Fraser, H. M. & Gunn, A. Immunochemistry 11, 75–77 (1974).
Edwardson, J. A. et al. in Neuronal Functions of Peptides (eds Barker, J. L. & Smith, T. G.) (Dekker, New York, in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Cotte, D., De Menezes, C., Bennett, G. et al. Dopamine stimulates the degradation of gonadotropin releasing hormone by rat synaptosomes. Nature 283, 487–489 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283487a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/283487a0
This article is cited by
-
Dopamine decreases release of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone from superfused rat mediobasal hypothalamus
Journal of Endocrinological Investigation (1985)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
