Prolactin inhibits oestradiol-induced luteinizing hormone release at the pituitary level

The direct action of prolactin (Prl) on pituitary LH secretion was studied by examining its effect on oestradiol (E2)-induced luteinizing hormone (LH) release from the rat pituitary in a perifusion system and determining the oestrogen receptor (ER) content of the pituitary in hyperprolactinaemic female rats. When the pituitary from rats in pro-oestrus was perifused with medium alone, 10(-7) M E2 significantly (P less than 0.05) increased the LH concentration in the effluent by 60-130% of the basal level, but in medium containing 1 microgram/ml Prl it did not cause LH release. In hyperprolactinaemic rats produced by implanting 2 anterior pituitary glands under the kidney capsule, the ER content of the cytosol of the pituitary (53.2 +/- 2.9 fmol/pituitary) was significantly increased (P less than 0.05), but that of the nuclei (6.8 +/- 0.2 fmol/pituitary) was significantly decreased (P less than 0.05) compared with the contents in rats in pro-oestrus. These data suggest that Prl has a direct suppressive effect on LH secretion from the pituitary in the rat, and that decreased translocation of ER into the nucleus might relate to impaired LH release by E2 from the pituitary of hyperprolactinaemic rats.