DESENSITIZATION OF GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING-HORMONE ACTION IN ALPHA-T3-1 CELLS DUE TO UNCOUPLING OF INOSITOL 1,4,5-TRISPHOSPHATE GENERATION AND CA2+ MOBILIZATION

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) acts via a G-protein coupled rec eptor on gonadotropes to increase cytosolic Ca2+ and stimulate gonadot ropin secretion, Sustained exposure causes desensitization of these ef fects, but the GnRH receptor has no C-terminal tail and does not under go rapid (<5 min) desensitization. Nevertheless, pretreatment of alpha T3-1 cells with GnRH reduced the spike Ca2+ response to GnRH and decr eased the GnRH effect on inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P-3) by 30-50%. Ca2+-free medium with or without thapsigargin also decrease d GnRH-stimulated Ins(1,4,5)P-3 generation, implying that attenuation of the Ca2+ response underlies the Ins(1,4,5)P-3 reduction rather than vice versa. Intracellular Ca2+ pool depletion cannot explain desensit ization of the Ca2+ response because pool depletion and repletion were faster (half-times, <1 min) than the onset of and recovery from desen sitization (half-times 10-20 min and 4-6 h). Moreover, 1-h GnRH pretre atment attenuated the spike Ca2+ response to GnRH but not that to iono mycin, and brief GnRH exposure in Ca2+-free medium reduced the respons e to ionomycin more effectively in controls than in desensitized cells , GnRH pretreatment also attenuated the Ca2+ response to PACAP38. This novel form of desensitization does not reflect uncoupling of GnRH rec eptors from their immediate effector system but rather a reduced effic iency of mobilization by Ins(1,4,5)P-3 of Ca2+ from an intact intracel lular pool.