Dissociation of cyclic AMP accumulation from that of luteinizing hormone (LH) release in response to gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and cholera enterotoxin.

Anterior hemipituitaries from female rats were incubated invitro in Krebs Ringer bicarbonate buffer, pH 7.2 containing 2 mg/ml of glucose in the absence and in the presence of GnRH or cholera enterotoxin. Following this incubation, the pituitaries were separated from the medium and cAMP and LH were assayed in the tissue and the medium, respectively. Incubations with GnRH in the range of 25 ng/ml to 400 ng/ml resulted in increase in LH release into the medium. Cholera enterotoxin at a concentration of 1 μg/ml, by contrast, caused no release of LH into the medium, but caused a 5-fold increase in cAMP level and this effect was concentration dependent. Cholera enterotoxin did not interfere with the GnRH-mediated LH release. It is concluded from these experiments that the ability of GnRH to increase cAMP level may be independent of its ability to release LH.