Regulation of growth hormone secretion by alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptors in infantile, prepubertal, and adult male rats.

Excitatory amino acids, such as glutamate, constitute a major transmitter system in the control of hypothalamic-pituitary function. Different subtypes of glutamate receptors, such as N-methyl-D-aspartic acid and kainate receptors, have been involved in the control of GH secretion. Other excitatory amino acid receptor subtypes, as alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA), amino-4-phosphobutyric acid, and metabotropic receptors, have been identified, yet their role in the control of neuroendocrine function remains to be completely characterized. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential involvement of AMPA receptors in the control of GH secretion. In a first set of experiments, neonatal (5 and 10 days) and prepubertal (23 days) male rats were injected with AMPA (1, 2.5, or 5 mg/kg) or the antagonist of AMPA receptors, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-nitro-2,3-dioxo-benzo(f)quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide (NBQX; 0.25 or 0.50 mg/kg). Serum GH concentrations significantly increased 15 min after i.p. administration of AMPA in both neonatal and prepubertal male rats. In addition, serum GH concentrations decreased after NBQX treatment. The stimulatory effect of AMPA was abolished by pretreatment with the blocker of nitric oxide synthase, nitro(w)-arginine-methyl ester (40 mg/kg), and was partially counteracted by the simultaneous administration of GH-releasing hormone (500 microg/kg). Moreover, AMPA was unable to elicit in vitro GH secretion by hemipituitaries from prepubertal males, pointing out that the hypothalamus is probably the site of action for the reported stimulatory action of AMPA on GH release. In a second set of experiments, the effects of AMPA and NBQX were tested in adult male rats. As in prepubertal animals, AMPA significantly increased GH secretion in adult males, whereas NBQX (20 or 40 nmol), administered through intracerebroventricular injection, induced a significant decrease in the amplitude of GH pulses. In conclusion, our data indicate that AMPA receptors have a physiological stimulatory role in the control of GH secretion in male rats throughout the life span. This effect depends on appropriate nitric oxide synthesis during the prepubertal age. In addition, AMPA receptors appear to modulate pulsatile GH secretion in adulthood.