Hypophyseal-portal concentrations of growth hormone-releasing factor and somatostatin in conscious pigs: relationship to production of spontaneous growth hormone pulses.

A method of collecting hypophyseal portal blood (HPB) in conscious pigs was used to show the relationship between GRF and somatostatin (SRIF) concentration and peripheral GH response. Six male castrate pigs (approximately 63 kg body weight) had HPB and jugular blood collected individually for an average of 175 min each. Twenty-seven spontaneous GH pulses were detected in the 1050 min of total HPB collection. Of the associations examined, the only significant finding was that GH pulse maxima occurred nonrandomly within periods of SRIF descent (63%; P = 0.005). Although 48% (13/27) of GH pulse maxima were associated with an ascent in portal GRF concentration, these associations were not determined to be nonrandom (P = 0.14). Only 7 of 27 (26%) GH pulse maxima were associated with an ascent in portal GRF concentration and a descent in SRIF concentration occurring simultaneously. A saline infusion given approximately 120 min after beginning blood collection resulted in an increase in SRIF pulse frequency and a decrease in GH-AUC and GRF-AUC. The cause of this saline effect is unknown, but it may have been related to acclimation of the pigs to the blood collection procedure. These data show the complexity of the relationship between SRIF and GRF concentrations and GH secretion and may indicate a close relationship with SRIF in GH pulse generation in the pig. In addition, these data support the hypothesis that, in the pig, mediation of GH release cannot be explained simply by antagonism between GRF and SRIF.