Summary
Administration of the alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine induces growth hormone (GH) release in rat and man. In the present study it is shown that the GH response to clonidine is weaker in rats exposed to depletion of both noradrenaline and serotonin (by means of reserpine or the combined treatment of FLA-63 and PCPA) than in animals exposed to noradrenaline depletion (by means of FLA-63) only. The possibility that an impaired serotonergic neurotransmission contributes to the blunted GH responses to clonidine observed in patients suffering from endogenous depression is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andén N-E (1967) Effects of reserpine and tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor on the monoamine levels in different regions of the rat central nervous system. Eur J Pharmacol 1: 1–5
Arnold MA, Fernstrom JD (1980) Administration of antisomatostatin serum to rats reverses the inhibition of pulsatile growth hormone secretion produced by injection of metergoline but not yohimbine. Neuroendocrinology 31: 194–199
Balldin J, Bolle P, Eden S, Eriksson E, Modigh K (1980) Effects of electroconvulsive shocks on growth hormone secretion induced by monoamine receptor agonists in reserpine-pretreated rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 5: 329–337
Bluet-Pajot MT, Schaub C, Mounier F, Segalen A, Duhault J, Kordon C (1980) Monoaminergic regulation of growth hormone in rat. J Endocrinol 94: 387–396
Casanueva FF, Villanueva L, Cabranes JA, Cabezas-Cerrato J, Fernandez-Cruz A (1984) Cholinergic mediation of growth hormone secretion elicited by arginine, clonidine, and physical exercise in man. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 59: 526–530
Charney DS, Heninger GR, Sternberg G (1982) Failure of chronic antidepressant treatment to alter growth hormone response to clonidine. Psychiatry Res 7: 135–138
Checkley SA, Slade AP, Shur E (1981) Growth hormone and other responses to clonidine in patients with endogenous depression. Br J Psychiatry 138: 51–55
Collu R, Fraschini F, Visconti P, Martini L (1972) Adrenergic and serotonergic control of growth hormone secretion in male rats. Endocrinology 90: 1231–1237
Delitala G, Maioli M, Pacifico A, Brianda S, Palerom M, Manelli M (1983) Cholinergic receptor control mechanisms for L-Dopa, apomorphine, and clonidine-induced growth hormone secretion in man. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 57: 1145–1149
Durand D, Martin JB, Brazeau P (1977) Evidence for a role of alpha-adrenergic mechanisms in regulation of episodic growth hormone secretion in the rat. Endocrinology 100: 722–728
Edén S (1978) The secretory pattern of growth hormone: an experimental study in the rat. Acta Physiol Scand [suppl] 458
Edén S, Bolle P, Modigh K (1979) Monoaminergic control of episodic growth hormone secretion in the rat: effect of reserpine, alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine, p-chloro-phenyl-alanine and haloperidol. Endocrinology 105: 523–529
Edén S, Eriksson E, Martin JB, Modigh K (1981) Evidence for a growth hormone releasing factor mediating alpha-adrenergic influence on growth hormone secretion in the rat. Neuroendocrinology 33: 24–27
Edén S, Modigh K (1977) Effects of apomorphine and clonidine on rat plasma growth hormone after pretreatment with reserpine and electroconvulsive shocks. Brain Res 129: 379–384
Eikelboom R, Tannenbaum GS (1983) Effects of obesity-inducing ventromedial hypothalamic lesions on pulsatile growth hormone and insulin secretion: Evidence for the existence of a growth hormone-releasing factor. Endocrinology 112: 212–219
Eriksson E, Edén S, Modigh K (1982) Up- and down-regulation of central postsynaptic alpha-2 receptors reflected in growth hormone response to clonidine in the reserpine-pretreated rat. Psychopharmacology 77: 327–331
Ferland L, Labrie F, Jobin M, Arimura A, Schally AV (1976) Physiological role of somatostatin in the control of growth hormone and thyrotropin secretion. Biochem Biophys Res Comm 68: 149–156
Florvall L, Corrodi H (1970) Dopamine-beta-hydroxylase inhibitors. Acta Pharm Suec 7: 7–22
Katakami H, Kato Y, Matsushita N, Imura H (1984) Effects of neonatal treatment with monosodium glutamate on growth hormone release induced by clonidine and prostaglandin El in conscious male rats. Neuroendocrinology 38: 1–5
Koe BK, Weissman A (1966) p-Chlorophenylalanine: A specific depletor of brain serotonin. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 154: 499–516
Krulich L, Mayfield MA, Steele MK, McMillan BA, McCann SM, Koenig JI (1982) Differential effects of pharmacological manipulations of central alpha1 and alpha2-adrenergic receptors on the secretion of thyrotropin and growth hormone in male rats. Endocrinology 110: 796–804
Lal S, Tolis G, Martin JB, Brown GM, Guyda H (1975) Effect of clonidine on growth hormone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and thyroid-stimulating hormone in the serum of normal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 41: 827–832
Matussek N, Ackenheil M, Hippius H, Muller F, Schröder H-Th, Schultes H, Wailewski B (1980) Effect of clonidine on growth hormone release in psychiatric patients and controls. Psychiatry 2: 25–36
Miki N, Ono M, Shizume K (1984) Evidence that opiatergic and alpha-adrenergic mechanisms stimulate rat growth hormone release via growth hormone releasing factor. Endocrinology 114: 1950–1952
Murphy DL, Campbell L, Costa JL (1978) Current status of the indoleamine hypothesis of the affective disorder. In: Lipton MA, DiMascio A, Killam KE (eds) Psychopharmacology: a generation of progress. Raven Press, New York, pp 1235–1248
Negro-Vilar A, Ojeda SR, Advis JP, McCann SM (1979) Evidence for noradrenergic involvement in episodic prolactin and growth hormone release in ovariectomized rats. Endocrinology 105: 86–91
Siever LJ, Uhde TW, Silberman EK, Jimerson DC, Aloi JA, Post RM, Murphy DI (1982) Growth hormone response to clonidine as a probe of noradrenergic receptor responsiveness in affective disorder patients and controls. Psychiatry Res 6: 171–183
Smythe GA, Duncan MW, Bradshaw JE, Cai WY (1982) Serotonergic control of growth hormone secretion: Hypothalamic dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels and metabolism in three hyposomatotropic rat models and in normal rats. Endocrinology 110: 376–383
Szabo M, Dudlak D, Thominet JL, Frohman LA (1983) Ectopic growth hormone-releasing factor stimulates growth hormone secretion in the urethane-anesthetized ratin vivo. Neuroendocrinology 37: 328–331
Tannenbaum GS, Ling N (1984) The interrelationship of growth hormone (GH)-releasing factor and somatostatin in generation of the ultradian rhythm of GH secretion. Endocrinology 115: 1952–1957
Terry LC, Martin JR (1981) Evidence for alpha-adrenergic regulation of episodic growth hormone and prolactin secretion in undisturbed male rat. Endocrinology 108: 1869–1873
Vale W, Vaughan J, Yamamoto G, Spiess J, Rivier J (1983) Effects of synthetic human pancreatic (tumor) GH releasing factor and somatostatin, triiodothyronine and dexamethasone on GH secretionin vitro. Endocrinology 12: 1553–1555
Wehrenberg WB, Ling N, Böhlen P, Esch F, Brazeau R, Guillemin R (1982) Physiological roles of somatocrinin and somatostatin in the regulation of growth hormone secretion. Biochem Biophys Res Comm 109: 562–567
Wehrenberg WB, Bloch B, Chong-Li Z, Brazeau P, Ling N, Guillemin R (1984) Pituitary response to growth hormone-releasing factor in rats with functional or anatomical lesions of the central nervous system that inhibit endogenous growth hormone secretion. Regulat Peptid 8: 1–8
Willoughby JO, Day TA (1981) Central catecholamine depletion: Effects on physiological growth hormone and prolactin secretion. Neuroendocrinology 32: 65–69
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Söderpalm, B., Andersson, L., Carlsson, M. et al. Serotonergic influence on the growth hormone response to clonidine in rat. J. Neural Transmission 69, 105–114 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01244101
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01244101