Hormone release from thyrotrophs and lactotrophs during hypo- and hyperglycemia

To test whether changes in carbohydrate metabolism influence anterior pituitary function, iv TRH tests (25 micrograms TRH) were carried out on three different occasions in 6 normal subjects. On one of these occasions TRH was administered during normoglycemia (blood glucose level 4.5 mmol/l - on the other, during hyperglycemia (10 mmol/l) - and on the third, during hypoglycemia (3 mmol/l). Hypoglycemia reduced the TRH-elicited TSH response significantly (19 +/- 6%), but failed to affect the corresponding PRL response. Hyperglycemia left both the TSH and PRL responses to TRH unaffected. These results imply that thyrotrophs and lactotrophs react differently to changes in carbohydrate metabolism. Thyrotrophs - in contrast to lactotrophs - seem to require a certain minimal glucose delivery to function normally. Glucose excess does not change the reactivity of these pituitary cells significantly.