The Role of Calcium in Prolactin Release from the Pituitary of a Teleost Fishin Vitro*

Abstract

The release of PRL from the pituitary of a teleost fish, the tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), has been previously shown to be dependent on calcium. However, the source(s) and specific action(s) of calcium in the secretory process have not been identified. Also undefined are the mechanisms by which regulators of PRL cell function may alter calcium distribution. In the present investigation, the elevation of medium K+ concentration during static incubations to a depolarizing concentration (56 mM) produced no change in cumulative PRL release over control levels during the 18-20 h of incubation. During perifusion incubation, exposure to high K+ concentrations briefly stimulated (less than or equal to 10 min) and then depressed PRL release. In contrast, reduced medium osmotic pressure elicited a rapid elevation in PRL release that was sustained for 2 h or more. D600, a calcium entry blocker, at 10(-5) M diminished the K+-induced pulses of PRL release. The same concentration, however, did not alter the release of PRL evoked by reduced osmotic pressure. In contrast, CoCl2, which blocks a range of calcium-mediated processes in addition to calcium influx, suppressed PRL release during perifusion and static incubations in hyposmotic medium. These findings suggest that while PRL secretion from the tilapia pituitary is calcium dependent, calcium entry through voltage-regulated plasmalemma channels may not be a prerequisite to the actions of reduced osmotic pressure.