Time course and mechanism of growth hormone's negative feedback effect on its own spontaneous release

Endogenous pulsatile GH secretion is blunted by the administration of exogenous GH; however, few data are available on the time course of GH negative feedback, and the mechanism by which this occurs still remains unclear. In the present study, we examined the temporal pattern of the inhibitory effect induced by an acute (single) and chronic (5 days) sc recombinant human (rh) GH injection regimen on spontaneous GH release in the rat and assessed the possible involvement of the hypothalamic GH-inhibitory peptide, somatostatin (SRIF), in this response. Eight-hour (0800-1600 h) GH secretory profiles, obtained from free-moving adult male rats administered a single sc injection of 200 micrograms rhGH at 0800 h, revealed a marked suppression of spontaneous GH pulses (GH peak amplitude: 45.7 +/- 10.9 vs. 207.8 +/- 31.7 ng/ml in H2O-injected control rats; P less than 0.001) lasting for up to 4.1 +/- 0.1 h after the injection (mean 4-h plasma GH level: 13.6 +/- 3.6 vs. 49.4 +/- 7.0 ng/ml in H2O-injected controls; P less than 0.01). During the subsequent 4- to 8-h period, recovery of spontaneous GH secretory bursts was evident, and neither the GH peak amplitude nor mean 4-h plasma GH level of rhGH-treated rats was significantly different from that of H2O-injected controls. The magnitude, time course, and recovery of the rhGH-induced inhibitory effect on pulsatile GH release after chronic rhGH treatment was similar to that after a single injection. Passive immunization of rhGH-treated rats with SRIF antiserum reversed the rhGH-induced inhibition of spontaneous GH pulses (peak amplitude: 131.7 +/- 53.7 vs. 7.1 +/- 3.4 ng/ml in rhGH-treated control rats given normal sheep serum; P less than 0.05) and restored both the GH peak amplitude and mean plasma GH level to values similar to those in H2O-injected controls. Taken together, these results demonstrate that: 1) the inhibitory effect of rhGH on endogenous pulsatile GH release is of short duration (approximately 4 h); 2) the time course of this response does not change after 5-day repeated rhGH administration; and 3) the feedback effect of GH on its own spontaneous release is exerted, at least in part, by increasing hypothalamic SRIF secretion. Such a mechanism of GH feedback may be important in the physiological control of pulsatile GH secretion.