Cyproheptadine-mediated inhibition of growth hormone and prolactin release from pituitary adenoma cells of acromegaly and gigantism in culture

Abstract

The effect of cyproheptadine on growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (Prl) secretion from cultured pituitary adenoma cells of acromegaly and pituitary gigantism was studied. When varying doses of cyproheptadine ranging from 0.01 to 1 microM were added to the incubation media, GH secretion was consistently inhibited and a dose-response relationship was observed between the cyproheptadine concentrations and the amounts of GH released into the media. In pituitary adenomas which concurrently produced and secreted Prl, cyproheptadine likewise suppressed Prl release in a dose-related manner. This effect of cyproheptadine was not blocked by coincubation with serotonin. Similarly, coincubation with a dopaminergic antagonist, haloperidol, failed to reverse the inhibitory action produced by cyproheptadine. When coincubated with dopamine, cyproheptadine further inhibited GH and Prl secretion. These results suggest that cyproheptadine possesses a direct action on human somatotroph adenoma cells to inhibit GH and Prl secretion by an unknown mechanism that is different from serotonergic and dopaminergic systems.