Plasma concentrations of prolactin and thyrotrophin during suckling in urethane-anaesthetized rats

Plasma levels of prolactin and TSH were determined by radioimmunoassay in urethaneanaesthetized lactating rats during suckling. Oxytocin release was monitored by recording intramammary pressure. Application of ten pups, 3 h after administration of urethane (1-1 g/kg, i.p.), evoked a parallel rise in prolactin and TSH concentrations which reached a maximum during the 3rd hour of suckling and then declined. Peak hormone concentrations represented a 25-fold increase in prolactin and a ten-fold increase in TSH. Suckling also elicited a pulsatile (every 5-10 min) release of 0-5--1-0 mu. oxytocin. The gradual rise in prolactin and TSH occurred between the 1st and 20th oxytocin pulses. Intravenous injection of thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) into unsuckled, anaesthetized lactating rats resulted in a 7- to 30-fold increase in TSH concentration, whereas prolactin levels showed no substantial change. These results indicate that suckling releases TSH as well as prolactin in the urethaneanaesthetized rat. However, the absence of prolactin release after injections of TRH makes it unlikely that both endocrine responses are regulated solely by the actions of this one releasing hormone.