Intracellular distribution of GABA in the rat anterior pituitary. An electron microscopic autoradiographic study

Neurotransmitter receptors as signaling platforms in anterior pituitary cells

The functions of anterior pituitary cells are controlled by two major groups of hypothalamic and intrapituitary ligands: one exclusively acts on G protein-coupled receptors and the other activates both G protein-coupled receptors and ligand-gated receptor channels. The second group of ligands operates as neurotransmitters in neuronal cells and their receptors are termed as neurotransmitter receptors. Most information about pituitary neurotransmitter receptors was obtained from secretory studies, RT-PCR analyses of mRNA expression and immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses, all of which were performed using a mixed population of pituitary cells. However, recent electrophysiological and imaging experiments have characterized γ-aminobutyric acid-, acetylcholine-, and ATP-activated receptors and channels in single pituitary cell types, expanding this picture and revealing surprising differences in their expression between subtypes of secretory cells and between native and immortalized pituitary cells. The main focus of this review is on the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of these receptors and their roles in calcium signaling and calcium-controlled hormone secretion.

Ion channels and signaling in the pituitary gland

Endocrine pituitary cells are neuronlike; they express numerous voltage-gated sodium, calcium, potassium, and chloride channels and fire action potentials spontaneously, accompanied by a rise in intracellular calcium. In some cells, spontaneous electrical activity is sufficient to drive the intracellular calcium concentration above the threshold for stimulus-secretion and stimulus-transcription coupling. In others, the function of these action potentials is to maintain the cells in a responsive state with cytosolic calcium near, but below, the threshold level. Some pituitary cells also express gap junction channels, which could be used for intercellular Ca(2+) signaling in these cells. Endocrine cells also express extracellular ligand-gated ion channels, and their activation by hypothalamic and intrapituitary hormones leads to amplification of the pacemaking activity and facilitation of calcium influx and hormone release. These cells also express numerous G protein-coupled receptors, which can stimulate or silence electrical activity and action potential-dependent calcium influx and hormone release. Other members of this receptor family can activate calcium channels in the endoplasmic reticulum, leading to a cell type-specific modulation of electrical activity. This review summarizes recent findings in this field and our current understanding of the complex relationship between voltage-gated ion channels, ligand-gated ion channels, gap junction channels, and G protein-coupled receptors in pituitary cells.

Molecular, pharmacological and functional properties of GABA(A) receptors in anterior pituitary cells

Anterior pituitary cells express gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A receptor-channels, but their structure, distribution within the secretory cell types, and nature of action have not been clarified. Here we addressed these questions using cultured anterior pituitary cells from postpubertal female rats and immortalized alphaT3-1 and GH(3) cells. Our results show that mRNAs for all GABA(A) receptor subunits are expressed in pituitary cells and that alpha1/beta1 subunit proteins are present in all secretory cells. In voltage-clamped gramicidin-perforated cells, GABA induced dose-dependent increases in current amplitude that were inhibited by bicuculline and picrotoxin and facilitated by diazepam and zolpidem in a concentration-dependent manner. In intact cells, GABA and the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol caused a rapid and transient increase in intracellular calcium, whereas the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen was ineffective, suggesting that chloride-mediated depolarization activates voltage-gated calcium channels. Consistent with this finding, RT-PCR analysis indicated high expression of NKCC1, but not KCC2 cation/chloride transporter mRNAs in pituitary cells. Furthermore, the GABA(A) channel reversal potential for chloride ions was positive to the baseline membrane potential in most cells and the activation of ion channels by GABA resulted in depolarization of cells and modulation of spontaneous electrical activity. These results indicate that secretory pituitary cells express functional GABA(A) receptor-channels that are depolarizing.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-C receptor stimulation increases prolactin (PRL) secretion in cultured rat anterior pituitary cells

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) reportedly inhibits secretion of anterior pituitary hormones by directly acting on GABA-A and GABA-B receptors on anterior pituitary cells, but the roles of GABA-C receptors are little known. In this study, involvement of GABA-C receptors in the secretion of prolactin (PRL) was examined using cultured rat anterior pituitary cells. GABA-C receptor agonist, cis-4-aminocrotonic acid (CACA, 0.1-1 mM) increased PRL secretion dose-dependently, while GABA-A receptor agonist, 100 microM muscimol, but not GABA-B receptor agonist, 100 microM baclofen, decreased the secretion. GABA-C receptor antagonist, 15 microM (1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl) methylphosphinic acid (TPMPA), and GABA-A receptor antagonist, 100 microM bicuculline, not only reversed such an agonist-induced increase or decrease in PRL secretion, but also suppressed or enhanced spontaneous PRL secretion, raising a possibility of GABA-C or GABA-A receptor stimulation by intrinsic pituitary-derived GABA. GABA-C receptor subunits (rho1, rho2, rho3) and GABA synthesizing enzymes (GAD 65 and GAD 67) were shown to be expressed as assayed by RT-PCR, and GABA-C receptor stimulation by CACA obviously increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration in the anterior pituitary cells. Thus, PRL secretion from anterior pituitary cells appears to be enhanced via direct GABA-C receptor stimulation by GABA originating from the anterior pituitary cells besides well-known hypothalamic GABA.

Presence of vesicular glutamate transporter-2 in hypophysiotropic somatostatin but not growth hormone-releasing hormone neurons of the male rat

Recent evidence indicates that hypophysiotropic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) neurons of the adult male rat express mRNA and immunoreactivity for type-2 vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT2), a marker for glutamatergic neuronal phenotype. In the present study, we investigated the issue of whether these glutamatergic features are shared by growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARH) and somatostatin (SS) neurons of the anterior periventricular nucleus (PVa), the two parvicellular neurosecretory systems that regulate anterior pituitary somatotrophs. Dual-label in situ hybridization studies revealed relatively few cells that expressed VGLUT2 mRNA in the ARH; the GHRH neurons were devoid of VGLUT2 hybridization signal. In contrast, VGLUT2 mRNA was expressed abundantly in the PVa; virtually all (97.5 +/- 0.4%) SS neurons showed labelling for VGLUT2 mRNA. In accordance with these hybridization results, dual-label immunofluorescent studies followed by confocal laser microscopic analysis of the median eminence established the absence of VGLUT2 immunoreactivity in GHRH terminals and its presence in many neurosecretory SS terminals. The GHRH terminals, in turn, were immunoreactive for the vesicular gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter, used in these studies as a marker for GABA-ergic neuronal phenotype. Together, these results suggest the paradoxic cosecretion of the excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter glutamate with the inhibitory peptide SS and the cosecretion of the inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitter GABA with the stimulatory peptide GHRH. The mechanisms of action of intrinsic amino acids in hypophysiotropic neurosecretory systems require clarification.

Benzodiazepines and anterior pituitary function

Benzodiazepines (BDZ) are one of the most prescribed classes of drugs because of their marked anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant and hypnotic effects. The pharmacological actions of BDZ depend on the activation of 2 specific receptors. The central BDZ receptor, present in several areas of the central nervous system (CNS), is a component of the GABA-A receptor, the activation of which increases GABAergic neurotransmission and is followed by remarkable neuroendocrine effects. The peripheral benzodiazepine receptors (PBR), structurally and functionally different from the GABA-A receptor, have been shown in peripheral tissues but also in the CNS, in both neurones and glial cells, and in the pituitary gland. BDZ receptors bind to a family of natural peptides called endozepines, firstly isolated from neurons and glial cells in the brain and then in several peripheral tissues as well. Endozepines modulate several central and peripheral biological activities, including some neuroendocrine functions and synthetic BDZ are likely to mimic them, at least partially. BZD, especially alprazolam (AL), possess a clear inhibitory influence on the activity of the HPA axis in both animals and humans. This effect seems to be mediated at the hypothalamic and/or suprahypothalamic level via suppression of CRH. The strong negative influence of AL on hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis agrees with its peculiar efficacy in the treatment of panic disorders and depression. BZD have also been shown to increase GH secretion via mechanisms mediated at the hypothalamic or supra-hypothalamic level, though a pituitary action cannot be ruled out. Besides the impact on HPA and somatotrope function, BDZ also significantly affect the secretion of other pituitary hormones, such as gonadotropins and PRL, probably acting through GABAergic mediation in the hypothalamus and/or in the pituitary gland. In all, BDZ are likely to represent a useful tool to investigate GABAergic activity and clarify its role in the neuroendocrine control of anterior pituitary function; their usefulness probably overrides what had been supposed before.