Interaction of atropine with naloxone to alter anterior pituitary hormone secretion

The effects of third ventricular injection of naloxone and atropine, alone and together, on plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were studied in conscious, ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Samples were removed from unrestrained rats that had been previously implanted with an atrial cannula, and plasma hormone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. Intraventricular injection of naloxone (30 micrograms) induced increases in plasma LH and GH concentrations, decreased plasma PRL levels, but did not alter plasma TSH. When atropine (100 micrograms) was injected intraventricularly, there was a decrease in plasma LH and an increase in PRL levels but no alterations in the levels of the other hormones. The action of naloxone on PRL and GH release was eliminated by simultaneous administration of atropine, but there was only a slight reduction in its effect on LH. The results indicate that central cholinergic neurons may play an important role, via muscarinic type receptors, in mediation of the effects of naloxone and presumably opiates on PRL and GH release, whereas the effects on LH appear to proceed independently of cholinergic neurons.