Abstract
Catecholamines were quantified in hypophysial portal plasma obtained from cycling diestrous rats and from noncycling diestrous rats with hyperprolactinemia due to PRLsecreting pituitary explants or a PRL-secreting pituitary tumor. In rats bearing PRL-secreting tumors, the plasma concentration of PRL was 4450 ± 938 ng/ml (mean ± SE), whereas in cycling diestrous animals the plasma level of PRL was 16 ± 2.2 ng/ml. The concentration of dopamine in hypophysial portal plasma of tumor-bearing rats (2.0 ± 0.3 ng/ml) was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than that in diestrous rats (1.1 ± 0.2 ng/ml). The anterior pituitary content of PRL was 18 ± 1.5 μg in cycling diestrous animals and 9 ± 0.8 μg in tumor-bearing rats. The adrenals from tumor-bearing animals were much heavier (155 ± 14 mg) than those from cycling diestrous rats (58 ± 1.2 mg). The concentration of dopamine in portal plasma from tumor-bearing adrenalectomized rats was 2.0 ± 0.5 ng/ml, similar to that in portal plasma from tumor-bearing intact animal...
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