Somatostatin regulation of glycoprotein hormone and free subunit secretion in clinically nonfunctioning and somatotroph adenomas in vitro.

There is increasing evidence that clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors produce and secrete glycoprotein hormone and/or free alpha- and beta-subunits. In addition, hypersecretion of free alpha-subunit occurs in up to 37% of patients with somatotroph adenomas. An understanding of glycoprotein hormone regulation is important in developing effective therapeutic strategies for patients with tumors associated with intact glycoprotein hormone and free subunit hypersecretion. We investigated glycoprotein hormone and free subunit secretion by somatostatin in primary dispersed cultures of pituitary tumor cells from 23 patients with pituitary adenomas. Fifteen tumors from patients with clinically nonfunctioning adenomas (group 1) and 8 tumors from patients with somatotroph adenomas and cosecretion of alpha-subunit (group 2) were studied. Cultures were incubated with control or somatostatin-supplemented media for 24 h. Media samples from group 1 tumors were assayed for intact glycoprotein hormones and free alpha- and beta-subunits secretion levels, while media samples from group 2 cultures were assayed for alpha-subunit and GH secretion levels. Significant (P less than 0.05-0.001) inhibition of secretion of 1 or more intact hormones and/or free subunits was found in 10 of the 15 group 1 tumors. SRIF[10(-7) M] suppressed intact gonadotropin secretion in 60% of FSH-producing tumors and 30% of LH-producing tumors. Media concentrations of FSH beta and LH beta were decreased in 31% and 50% of group 1 tumors, respectively, following somatostatin treatment in those tumors which secreted free beta-subunits. alpha-Subunit was secreted by 12 of the 15 tumors, but significant (P less than 0.02-0.01) inhibition by somatostatin was observed in only 2 tumors. In contrast, significant (P less than 0.05-0.001) inhibition of alpha-subunit in the somatotroph adenomas was found in 6 of the 8 tumors. Significant decreases in alpha-subunit were observed only in those tumors where GH was also significantly inhibited by somatostatin. We conclude that 1) somatostatin inhibits intact glycoprotein or free subunit secretion in the majority of clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors in vitro and 2) alpha-subunit secretion is suppressed in 17% and 69% of clinically nonfunctioning and somatotroph adenomas, respectively, consistent with a differential regulation of alpha-subunit by somatostatin in these two tumor types.