Inhibition of Stimulated Ascorbic Acid and Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Release by Nitric Oxide Synthase or Guanyl Cyclase Inhibitors

Ascorbic acid (AA), an antioxidant, is present in high concentrations in the hypothalamus. Previously, we have shown that AA inhibited stimulated release of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) from medial basal hypothalami in vitro. We have also demonstrated that cell membrane depolarization by high [K+] media-induced AA release that is blocked by NG-monomethyl-l-arginine, a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), indicating that the release process is mediated by NO. The release of LHRH is also mediated by NO. We hypothesized that AA is a co-transmitter released with classical transmitters from synaptic vesicles that acts to reduce chemically the NO formed, thereby providing feed-forward inhibitory control over LHRH release. Because NO acts by activating guanylyl cyclase (GC) resulting in production of cGMP, in the present investigation we studied the effects of an NOS inhibitor LY 83583 and GC inhibitor, O.D.Q. to further characterize the role of NO in high [K+]-induced AA and LHR...