Comparison of adiphenine and TRH effects on TSH release by rat pituitary in vitro

The mechanism of action of adiphenine on in vitro rat anterior pituitary TSH release was compared to that of the physiological stimulator TRH. The comparative study showed that adiphenine and TRH were able to increase TSH release in a dose-dependent manner, had similar time courses of action for equipotent stimulating concentrations and produced similar aspects of stimulated TSH cells. However, there were several differences between the effects of adiphenine and TRH. Adiphenine action was inhibited by 20 mM K+; was not calcium dependent; was inhibited by neither thyroid hormones nor somatostatin; was little affected by energy depression. It is concluded that adiphenine probably acts near the ultimate steps of the TSH release pathway and could be a useful pharmacological tool for studying the mechanism of TSH release.