Lk. Conley et al., MECHANISM OF ACTION OF HEXARELIN AND GHRP-6 - ANALYSIS OF THE INVOLVEMENT OF GHRH AND SOMATOSTATIN IN THE RAT, Neuroendocrinology, 61(1), 1995, pp. 44-50
We have recently reported oral and parenteral bioactivity for a new GH
-releasing peptide, hexarelin. In the present study, we have examined
the neuroendocrine mechanism by which hexarelin and GHRP-6, two GH-rel
easing peptides, mediate their actions. Although previous studies have
looked at the role of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and som
atostatin in regulating the action of GHRP-6 in culture and in stresse
d animals, our study looked at the role of both somatostatin and GHRH
in regulating the action of hexarelin as well as GHRP-6 in conscious a
nd freely-moving, nonstressed rats. Adult male rats, prepared with ind
welling jugular catheters, were pretreated i.v. with either control an
tiserum (CTLas), growth hormone-releasing hormone antiserum (GHRHas),
somatostatin antiserum (SSas), or both GHRHas and SSas. Animals were t
hen treated i.v. with 25 mu g/kg of either hexarelin or GHRP-6 4 h aft
er i.v. antisera pretreatment. Blood samples were collected every 20 m
in for the 3 h prior to peptide treatment and at 5, 10, 15, 20, 40 and
60 min following hexarelin or GHRP-6 injection. The peak plasma GH re
sponses in rats pretreated with CTLas were 552 +/- 125 ng/ml following
hexarelin administration and 386 +/- 132 ng/ml following GHRP-6 admin
istration. Rats pretreated with SSas exhibited peak GH responses follo
wing hexarelin or GHRP-6 of 702 +/- 115 and 312 +/- 42 ng/ml, respecti
vely. These plasma GH responses were similar to those observed in the
CTLas-pretreated animals. Hexarelin injection resulted in a peak GH re
sponse of 372 +/- 106 ng/ml in GHRHas-pretreated rats, while GHRP-6 in
jection resulted in a peak response of 135 +/- 40 ng/ml. Rats pretreat
ed with bath GHRHas and SSas responded to hexarelin administration wit
h a GH peak of 322 +/- 66 ng/ml and to GHRP-6 with a response of 134 /- 39 ng/ml. GH responses noted in these animals were similar to the r
esponses noted in GHRHas-pretreated rats. The GH responses elicited fo
llowing either GHRHas or both GHRHas and SSas pretreatment were signif
icantly lower than those responses observed in rats pretreated with ei
ther CTLas or SSas alone. Repeated measures analysis of the variance o
f peak plasma GH responses as well as of the area under the GH respons
e curves allowed us to reach the following conclusions: (1) hexarelin
was more effective in eliciting GH release than was GHRP-6 at the dose
tested; (2) GHRHas inhibited the GH response to both hexarelin and GH
RP-6, and (3) SSas pretreatment did not affect the GH response to the
GH-releasing peptides. Therefore, we conclude that these two GH-releas
ing peptides elicit GH release via a GHRH-dependent pathway. In additi
on, because both hexarelin and GHRP-6 are bioactive regardless of circ
ulating somatostatin tone, these GH-releasing peptides must also act t
o suppress somatostatin release from the hypothalamus or somatostatin
effectiveness at the pituitary.