The development of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in the neonatal rat: hypothalamic somatostatin and pituitary and serum growth hormone concentrations.

Using a specific radioimmunoassay technique for somatostatin (GHRIH), we have studied the ontogenesis of hypothalamic GHRIH in relation to pituitary and serum GH concentrations in immature rats. Hypothalamic GHRIH concentrations rose from minimal levels of 4.5 +/- 0.2 pg/microgram protein (mean +/- SEM) at 2 days to peak concentrations of 40.6 +/- 4.1 pg/microgram protein at 28 days followed by a progressive decline toward 50 days (7.0 +/- 0.8 pg/microgram protein). Pituitary GH concentration attained peak prepuberal values of 203.5 +/- 22.8 ng/microgram protein at 16 days with a further marked rise after puberty. Serum GH concentration was elevated to 2 days (53.3 +/- 5.7 ng/ml) and declined progressively to 5.9 +/- 1.5 ng/ml at 13 days. There was a highly significant inverse correlation between hypothalamic GHRIH and serum GH concentrations (r = 0.743, P less than 0.005). These data indicate that the hypothalamic regulatory mechanism for pituitary GH release develops during the neonatal period of the rat and suggest that GHRIH may play an important physiological role in this process.