Forskolin inhibits potassium-evoked release of vasopressin from rat neurohypophyses

The effects of forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, on the release of vasopressin from isolated rat neurointermediate lobes during a 10 min period of potassium stimulation were investigated. Forskolin was added 5 min after the onset of potassium stimulation. A concentration-dependent reduction in the amount of hormone released during the remaining 5 min period of stimulation was observed. The results suggest that an increase in cyclic AMP following depolarisation inhibits hormone release. This contrasts with several other reports showing that an increase in cyclic AMP prior to stimulation enhances release. We therefore propose that cyclic AMP plays a dual role in stimulus-secretion coupling in the neurohypophysis.