Inhibitory Action of Ethanol on Luteinizing Hormone Secretion by Rat Anterior Pituitary Cells in Culture*

Abstract

Ethanol (EtOH) inhibits LH secretion in humans and animals. In these studies we examined the gonadotroph as a possible site of action of EtOH by treating cultured pituitary cells with several concentrations of EtOH (200, 400, or 800 mg/100 ml) for 4 days. Cells were incubated for 2 h with LHRH on the last day of the experiment. Whereas basal LH release was unaffected over the 4 days of EtOH treatment, the LH response to LHRH was inhibited by EtOH in a dose-related fashion. Inhibitory responses at the lowest concentration of EtOH (200 mg/100 ml) occurred inconsistently. At the highest concentration (800 mg/100 ml), the curve of log LHRH dose vs. LH release had a lower maximum and was shifted to the right of that for untreated cells. Total LH content and total number of cells attached to the culture wells were unchanged after EtOH treatment. These data suggest that EtOH at high concentrations can lower the responsiveness of the gonadotroph to LHRH.