[Male prolactin producing pituitary microadenoma -a case report (author's transl)]

A 27-year-old man was admitted to the Urological Department of Tokyo University, with complaints of delayed puberty and growth retardation. At the age of 14 years, he found his skeletal growth retarded. Since then he had not shown any development of secondary sex characters, such as change of voice, appearance of public and axillary hair and development of external genital organs. He had not experienced the ejaculation and libido, while the excretion has been maintained. This feminized patient showed poorly developed external genitalia, while there was no evidence of galactorrhea or gynecomastia. Ophthalmologic examinations were normal. Endocrinological studies revealed moderate hyperprolactinemia (185-200 ng/ml) and marked disorder for GH secretion. Gonadotropins were low normal and their responses to LH-RH were moderately disturbed. Serum testosterone level was extremely low and its responses to HCG were insufficient. Under the diagnosis of prolactinoma, he was referred to the Neurological Department. Plain skull film and tomography of the sella showed a deformed and slightly expanded sella, the measurement of which were within normal limits. No supra-sellar extention was demonstrated by pneumoencephalography and CT scan. A diagnosis of PRL producing microadenoma was made, and a radical removal of the tumor was performed through the transsphenoidal route. In most tumor cells the presence of PRL was revealed by immunohistochemical stains. Postoperatively, PRL levels returned to normal, while other hormonal deficiencies remained unchanged. With the administration of testosterone, he gradually became masculine and reportedly gained normal libido and potency.

Neurophysin biosynthesis in vitro in oat cell carcinoma of the lung with ectopic vasopressin production

The incorporation of labeled compounds into neurophysins of a transplantable human oat cell carcinoma of the lung with ectopic vasopressin production was studied in vitro. Neurophysins in cell extracts and in incubation media were isolated by immunoprecipitation and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When cells were incubated with L-[35S]cysteine for 12 h, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the immunoprecipitates from cell extract and medium resolved two forms of neurophysins with apparent molecular mass of 10,000 (10K) and 20,000 (20K). Both forms of [35S]-neurophysins were completely displaced from the immunoprecipitates by excess human neurophysin. Incubation of cells with L-[35S]cysteine and D-[3H]-glucosamine hydrochloride revealed that glucosamine was incorporated into the 20K neurophysin region, but not into 10K species. To observe the kinetics of labeling of the two forms of neurophysins, cells were incubated with L[35S]cysteine for varying periods of time. After short labeling periods, most of the radioactivity resided in 20K species, which plateaued after 1 h, whereas 10K neurophysin progressively increased in its height. When cells were chased with unlabeled cysteine after the exposure to a short pulse of labeling, 20K neurophysin peak gradually decreased with an apparent initial half-life of 1 h. In contrast, the label in 10K neurophysin steadily increased, which exceeded the former by 3 h of chase. Analysis of 20K neurophysin in cell extract by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gel demonstrated that it was principally composed of a protein with an apparent isoelectric point (pI) of 5.7. These results suggest that neurophysin is synthesized in ectopic vasopressin-producing tumors by post-translational processing from a glycosylated proneurophysin with an apparent molecular mass of 20,000 daltons and a pI of 5.7.

Pituitary apoplexy in acromegaly during bromocriptine therapy

Two cases of pituitary apoplexy occurring in the course of long-term bromocriptine therapy for active acromegaly are described. Although bromocriptine was effective in lowering serum growth hormone levels and concomitant clinical improvement was achieved, both patients developed an acute episode suggesting pituitary apoplexy when the therapy was continued for 6 and 24 months, respectively. Surgery verified marked haemorrhage and necrosis of an eosinophilic pituitary adenoma in each case. Bromocriptine may have suppressed the growth of these pituitary adenomas resulting in necrosis of the tumour, followed by haemorrhage into the adenoma. Pituitary apoplexy has not been documented as a complication of bromocriptine therapy. This report points out a possible role of bromocriptine in the development of this catastrophe and that careful follow-up is required when long-term treatment with bromocriptine is attempted.

Direct effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone, cyproheptadine, and dopamine on adrenocorticotropin secretion from human corticotroph adenoma cells in vitro

In an attempt to delineate the mechanism and the site of action of cyproheptadine and dopaminergic agonists as well as hormones including thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and hydrocortisone, the effects of these substances on ACTH secretion from corticotroph adenoma cells in culture were examined. Dispersed cells of pituitary adenomas obtained at surgery from four patients with Nelson's syndrome and one subject with Cushing's disease formed a monolayer and actively secreted ACTH into the medium. When TRH (0.1 microM) was added to the medium, a significant increase in ACTH secretion was demonstrated by adenoma cells from two patients who responded to TRH preoperatively. Moreover, a dose-response relationship between TRH concentrations and ACTH secretion was observed. Incubation of cells with cyproheptadine (1 or 0.1 microM) resulted in a significant decrease in ACTH release, and inhibited stimulation produced by TRH in one experiment. This effect of cyproheptadine was blocked when equimolar concentrations of serotonin was coincubated, whereas serotonin by itself did not affect ACTH secretion. Dopamine (0.1 microM) lowered ACTH accumulation in the medium, which was blocked by the addition of haloperidol. When hydrocortisone was added to the culture, dose-dependent suppression of ACTH secretion was demonstrated. TRH at an equimolar concentration reversed this effect, but, failed to overcome the inhibition induced by a higher concentration of hydrocortisone in cells from one adenoma studied. Cultured normal corticotrophs obtained from a patient with metastatic breast cancer, on the other hand, did not show any response to these substances, except for hydrocortisone. We suggest that TRH, cyproheptadine, dopamine affect ACTH secretion in patients with ACTH-producing pituitary adenomas by their direct action on the adenoma.

[Clinico-biochemical study on Ishibashi rats (author's transl)]

Ishibashi rats, a mutant strain with congenital spinal malformation discovered by Ishibashi in 1968, are generally regarded as an animal model for a human inborn error of spinal malformation. Biochemical values in serum or plasma of Ishibashi rats were compared with those of Wistar-Imamichi rats, and the following results were obtained: 1) In Ishibashi rat sera, alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly lower than that in sera of controls, and an intestinal type of isozyme was hardly detected. 2) All other serum biochemical parameters examined showed no significant difference between Ishibashi and Wistar-Imamichi rats. 3) The data suggest that Ishibashi rats may serve as an animal model of hypophosphatasia in man.

Morphologic and biochemical characteristics of human kidney cells in vitro

In vitro cultivated cells derived from normal human renal cortex were characterized morphologically and biochemically. Although the epithelial monolayer was composed of heterogeneous cells, it included cells with a surface structure similar to microvilli as well as some resembling the desmosome between neighboring cells. Enzymatic studies revealed a marked decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity, and the activity of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase was also reduced to about one-fifth of that in the original tissue. The electrophoretic mobility of the enzyme was not identical with that of normal kidney or of the novel enzyme in renal neoplastic tissue. Lactate dehydrogenase activity was similar to that of normal kidney tissue but the isozyme pattern was completely inverted. These cells responded to the addition of 10 ng per ml of parathyroid hormone in culture medium and there was a 33 fold increase in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Estrogen specific binding protein was not detectable in the monolayer cells. These results clearly indicated that the biologic transformation observed in the cultivated normal cells was not attributable to simple fetalism or dedifferentiation, but was a more complicated process.

Nature of the immunoreactive neurophysins in ectopic vasopressin-producing oat cell carcinomas of the lung. Demonstration of a putative common precursor to vasopressin and neurophysin

In an attempt to delineate the nature of the immunoreactive neurophysins in oat cell carcinomas of the lung with ectopic vasopressin production, tumor neurophysins were characterized by gel filtration and by electrophoresis. In all of the five tumor tissues, activities of both vasopressin and nicotine-stimulated neurophysin (NSN) determined by radioimmunoassay were demonstrated. A small amount of oxytocin as well as estrogen-stimulated neurophysin was detected in three of the tissues. When tissue extract was subjected to Sephadex G-50 gel filtration in 0.2 N acetic acid, the major portion of immunoreactive NSN emerged in the fractions corresponding to the molecular size of 10,000. The migration pattern of NSN in these fractions on electrophoresis was qualitatively the same as that of NSN extracted from human posterior pituitary glands. In addition to this major neurophysin, immunoreactive NSN with the molecular size of 20,000 was consistently demonstrated in three tumor extracts. This high molecular weight form of neurophysin represented 6.5--8.7% of total NSN immunoactivities in each tumor extract and its elution profile was not changed when analyzed under denaturating conditions in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride. On electrophoresis, it migrated near the gamma globulin region; however, the peak was broad suggesting that it consists of more than two different molecular populations. A substantial portion of the high molecular weight NSN appears to be a glycoprotein judging from its binding to concanavalin A. When the high molecular weight from of neurophysin was incubated with trypsin, essentially all of the activities were converted into NSN with the molecular size of 10,000. Moreover, an equimolar amount of vasopressin was liberated after the treatment, the elution pattern of which closely resembled that of synthetic arginine vasopressin. When a lower concentration of trypsin was used, some of the 20,000-dalton neurophysin exhibited activities of both NSN and vasopressin. Since the antivasopressin serum used in this study appeared to be directed toward the ring portion side of vasopressin, these results suggest that this 20,000-dalton neurophysin is, in all probability, a common precursor to vasopressin and neurophysin, and that vasopressin may be located in the middle of the precursor molecule.

Simultaneous determination of bestatin and p-hydroxybestatin, a major metabolite, in human serum by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Utilization of quantitative selected ion monitoring and deuterium labelled internal standard

A specific and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of bestatin and its major metabolite, p-hydroxybestatin in human serum has been developed by selected ion monitoring using the corresponding deuterated internal standards. The N-trifluoroacetamide-O-trimethylsilyl either derivatives of the trideuteromethyl esters of bestatin and p-hydroxybestatin were suitable for quantitation by selected ion monitoring. The determination limit of these compounds by the present method is 1 ng ml-1 in human serum.

Gas chromatography of dimethylalkylsilyl ether derivatives of bile acid methyl esters

The gas chromatographic separation of the DMAS ether derivatives of ten bile acid methyl esters, namely DMES, DMnPS and DMiPS ethers, have been studied by use of an open tubular glass capillary column, coated with SE-30. The DMAS ether derivatives were eluted in sequence according to the number of hydroxyl groups except of 12-KCDCA, and separated. This contrasts with the poorly resolved gas chromatographic peaks produced by the TMS ether derivatives. The DMES ether derivatives were resolved and baseline separation in 30 min, but those of HCA and 12-KCDCA had similar methylene unit values.

Serum levels of neurophysin in pregnancy and in the postpartum period: relation to 17beta-estradiol levels

Changes in serum neurophysin levels were studied in women during normal pregnancy and after delivery. Neurophysin was elevated as early as the sixth week of gestation and gradually increased until, at the latest, the twentieth week. A significant positive correlation was obtained between serum concentrations of neurophysin and those of 17beta-estradiol. In serum samples with 17beta-estradiol levels exceeding 5 ng/ml, neurophysin was consistently elevated above the normal control range. After delivery, serum neurophysin concentrations declined quite rapidly. The levels returned to those of nonpregnant women by 6 days postpartum. These results support the view that a high rate of secretion of 17beta-estradiol may be one of the factors responsible for the elevated levels of serum neurophysin in pregnancy and that this effect disappears rapidly after the disposal of estrogen, independent of the duration of the elevated estrogen levels.

Effect of thyrotropin-releasing hormone and bromoergocriptine on growth hormone and prolactin secretion in perfused pituitary adenoma tissues of acromegaly

To determine the site of action of TRH and 2-brom-alpha-ergocriptine (CB154) on pituitary hormone release in acromegalic patients, the effect of these substances on GH and PRL secretion was examined in perfused pituitary adenoma tissues obtained at surgery from subjects with acromegaly. Relatively stable baseline secretion levels of GH and PRL were followed by an abrupt and marked discharge of the hormones after TRH infusion in all of the experiments. The pattern of GH response was essentially the same as that of PRL. Moreover, a dose-response relationship was obtained between the TRH concentrations infused and the magnitude of GH and PRL responses. The infusion of CB154, on the other hand, inhibited both GH and PRL secretion in three experiments performed on different adenoma tissues. This effect of CB154 was prompt and lasted for a long period even after the infusion was discontinued. When TRH was perfused concomitantly with CB154, the stimulatory effect of TRH on GH release was maintained, while TRH-induced PRL secretion was completely blocked. The results suggest that both TRH and CB154 possess a direct action on pituitary adenoma cells of acromegaly and that aberrant GH responses to TRH and dopaminergic agonists in acromegalic patients may be explained by the altered cellular membrane receptors of the adenoma of these subjects.

[Absorption, excretion, distribution and metabolism of 3H-labelled pepleomycin sulfate (author's transl)]

Absorption, excretion, distribution and metabolism of pepleomycin sulfate (NK631) were investigated in rats after intravenous administration of 3H-NK631 by whole-body autoradiography, CM-Sephadex column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography. The highest radioactivity was found in kidney, followed by cartilage, blood, lung, esophagus, adrenal gland and skin at 0.5 hour after the administration and little radioactivity was observed in central nerve system. The NK631 and deamide NK631 were identified as major (90%) and minor metabolites in the 24-hour urine.

Quantitation of berberine chloride in human urine by use of selected ion monitoring in the field desorption mode

A method is described for the microdetermination of berberine chloride in human urine by a field desorption mass spectrometry selected ion monitoring system using a deuterium labelled analogue of berberine chloride as an internal standard. Prior to the quantitation of berberine in human urine, the fundamental problems related to field desorption selected ion monitoring, such as quality of emitters, amounts of sample loading, and the programming rate of the emitter current, were statistically investigated in detail. Berberine chloride can be determined in a concentration of 10 ng ml-1 in human urine by the method described. The analytical results were compared with those from gas chromatography mass spectrometry selected ion monitoring in the chemical ionization mode suggesting that the reliability of field desorption selected ion monitoring may be almost equivalent to that of gas chromatography chemical ionization selected ion monitoring.

Use of a new silylating agent for separation of bile acids and cholesterol by selected ion monitoring with the computer controlled intensity matching technique

Dimethylethylsilyl ether derivatives of human biliary bile acid ethyl esters and cholesterol were separated completely by gas chromatography and selected ion monitoring by use of the mixed stationary liquid phase of OV-101 and Dexsil 300GC (1:1). These derivatives could be prepared easily and subjected directly to gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Dimethylethylsilyl ethers of bile acids ethyl esters were eluted in regular order according to the number of hydroxyl groups when used with the non-polar stationary liquid phases. Lithocholic acid, a minor component of human bile, was identified easily by selected ion monitoring with the computer controlled intensity matching technique.

Induction of growth hormone and prolactin secretion by luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and its blockade by bromoergocriptine in acromegalic patients

In an attempt to evaluate the effect of LRH on GH and PRL secretion, LRH in a dose of 100 micrograms was injected iv to 22 patients with active acromegaly. A definite increase in both serum GH and PRL levels was observed in one patient, while four other subjects responded to LRH to secret either GH or PRL. The effectiveness of LRH on GH and PRL release was not correlated with the age or sex of patients, the basal levels of serum GH or PRL, the GH response to TRH administration, or the increase in serum gonadotropin concentrations after LRH injection. In three patients, this LRH-induced GH and PRL release was completely blocked by pretreatment with 2-bromo-alpha-ergocriptine (CB154). The results suggest that elevations of GH and PRL after LRH occur rather sporadically in acromegalic patients and that the action of LRH on GH release is occasioned by a different mechanism from that of TRH.

Quantitative analysis of berberine in urine samples by chemical ionization mass fragmentography

A highly specific and sensitive method has been developed for the quantitative determination of berberine in human urine. In order to carry out the microdetermination of berberine by chemical ionization mass fragmentography, berberine was reduced with sodium borohydride in methanol to tetrahydroberberine and subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Berberine concentrations as low as 1 ng/ml urine can be measured by this method, with [2H3]berberine chloride as an internal standard.

Effect of bromoergocriptine on TRH-induced growth hormone and prolactin release in acromegalic patients

In an attempt to evaluate the dynamics of growth hormone (GH) and prolactin secretion in acromegalic patients, the response of serum GH as well as prolactin to 2-bromo-alpha-ergocriptine (CB154) alone or to CB154 combined with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) was studied in 8 subjects with this disease. Oral administration of CB154 unequivocally decreased serum prolactin levels in all of the 8 patients, while GH-inhibitory action of the drug was observed only in 6 subjects who responded to TRH with secretion of GH. The response of serum GH to TRH was not qualitatively and quantitatively altered by the treatment of patients with CB154 in a daily dose of 5 mg for two weeks. This treatment, on the other hand, remarkably suppressed basal levels of prolactin and completely blocked TRH-induced prolactin release in all of the subjects. The results suggest that there exists a dissociation between GH and prolactin responses to CB154 in acromegalic patients, and that CB154 and TRH may not share a common site of action on GH release in this pathologic state.

Application of an ion-cluster technique to the analysis of endogenous hydroxylated compounds. I. Preparation of a doublet by use of a mixture of trimethylsilylimidazole (TSIM) and TSIM-d3

In order to apply the intensity-matching technique to polyhydroxysteroids in biological fluids, the doublet of [M]+ and [M+3]+ was prepared in the process of derivatization by use of a mixture of trimethylsilylimidazole (TSIM) and TSIM-d3 and was used for mass fragmentography. The molar ratio of TSIM and TSIM-d3 was defined by the reciprocal of the number of hydroxyl groups in steroids. This technique may be useful in identifying low levels of the endogenous polyhydroxysteroids of interest in biological fluids.

Use of silylating agents for the identification of hydroxylated steroids by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Discrimination between phenolic and alcoholic hydroxyl groups

A phenolic trimethylsilyl (TMS) group was selectively exchanged for a dimethylalkylsilyl (DMAS) group on a gas chromatographic column by use of sandwich injection technique with DMAS-imidazole, and a TMS ether derivative of a phenolic steroid was converted into a DMAS ether or a mixed TMS and DMAS ether derivative with over 95% recovery. The selective exchange reaction seemed to be caused by the difference in lability between the ethereal TMS linkages to phenolic and alcoholic hydroxyl groups. This selectivity was found to be useful for discriminating gas chromatographically between the phenolic and alcoholic hydroxyl groups in steroids.

Use of new silylating agents for identification of hydroxylated steroids by gas chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry

Differences in methylene unit values were used for the determination of the hydroxyl group number of a steroid by means of gas chromatography. This index is defined as the difference in the methylene unit value between trimethylsilyl and other dimethylalkylsilyl (DMAS) ether derivatives of hydroxylated steroids, namely dimethylethylsilyl (DMES) and dimethyl-n-propylsilyl (DMPS) ethers. The reactivities of DMES and DMPS imidazoles as silylating agents were nearly equal to that of TMS-I. Mass spectra of these derivatives were characterized by the molecular ion cluster, [M]+., [M-15]+ and [M-29]+ (or [M-43]+). The molecular ion cluster of these derivatives is most useful for estimating the molecular weight. Therefore, these DMAS ethers provide valuable information for structural elucidation of hydroxylated steroids by gas chromatography electron impact mass spectrometry.

Effect of age and sex on circulating and pituitary prolactin levels in human

In an attempt to determine whether age or sex affects prolactin secretion in the human, basal levels of serum prolactin, and its response to TRH administration as well as the pituitary content of this hormone were compared between both sexes and among the different agent groups. In 315 adult subjects of various ages, the mean basal levels of prolactin were found to be higher in women than in men of the same age groups with the exception of the sixth decade. The effect of age on serum prolactin concentrations, on the other hand, was not demonstrated. Similarly, the prolactin response to intravenous injections of 500 mug of TRH was significantly greater in female subjects than in males of both young and aged groups. No relationship between the prolactin response and the day of menstrual cycle in young women was apparent. Although quantitative difference in TRH-induced prolactin release was not observed between young and elderly subjects, the occurrence of prolactin peak and the elimination of the circulating prolactin following TRH administration were delayed in the aged groups. Taken together with the demonstration of a higher content of this hormone in female pituitary glands compared with those of males, it was concluded that prolactin secretion is enhanced in female subjects throughout life after puberty and that aging, per se, is not associated with an alteration in the rate of secretion of this hormone in human subjects.

Analysis of estrogen glucuronides. I--Characterization of estrogen glucuronides by gas chromatography mass spectrometry

The mass spectral characterization of nine kinds of estrogen glucuronides was investigated. The glucuronides were analysed after conversion to n-propyl ester-O-TMS ether derivatives by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The fragmentation of these derivatives is discussed using deuterium labels and TMS-d9 imidazole. A clear-cut difference was found between aliphatic and aromatic glucuronic acid conjugates. In particular the [M - 362]+- fragment ion was characteristic in the mass spectra of estrogen 3-glucuronides. On the other hand, four isomers of estriol and 16-epiestriol glucuronides containing an aliphatic acetal linkage were also characterized by the fragment ions of m/e value 204, 345, 415, and 431 and their relative intensities. Thus, all nine estrogen glucuronides were discriminated mass spectrometrically.