{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T15:43:10Z","timestamp":1781106190017,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"7","content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1991,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Several monokines, proteins secreted by monocytes and macrophages, alter release of hormones from the anterior pituitary. We report here the ability of femtomolar concentrations of interleukin 2 (IL-2), a lymphokine released from T lymphocytes, to alter directly pituitary hormone release. The effects of concentrations of IL-2 ranging from 10(-17) to 10(-9) M on anterior pituitary hormone release were evaluated in vitro. Hemipituitaries were preincubated in 1 ml of Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer (KRB) followed by incubation for 1 or 2 hr with KRB or KRB containing different concentrations of IL-2. This was followed by incubation for 30 min in 56 mM potassium medium to study the effect of pretreatment with IL-2 on subsequent depolarization-induced hormone release. Prolactin (PRL), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), corticotropin (ACTH), growth hormone (GH), and thyrotropic hormone (TSH) released into the incubation medium were measured by radioimmunoassay. IL-2 stimulated the basal release of PRL at 1 or 2 hr but suppressed the subsequent depolarization-induced PRL release, perhaps because the readily releasable pool of PRL was exhausted. The minimal effective dose (MED) was 10(-15) M. Conversely, IL-2 significantly suppressed the basal release of LH and FSH at 1 or 2 hr, with a MED of 10(-16) M, thus demonstrating a reciprocal action of the cytokine on lactotrophs and gonadotrophs. The subsequent depolarization-induced release of LH and FSH was suppressed, indicative of a persistent inhibitory action of IL-2. IL-2 stimulated ACTH and TSH release at 1 hr and the MEDs were 10(-12) and 10(-15) M, respectively. Conversely, IL-2 significantly lowered the basal release of GH at 1 hr, with a MED of 10(-15) M. The release of GH was not altered at 2 hr. The high potassium-induced release of ACTH, TSH, and GH was not affected. The results demonstrate that IL-2 at picomolar concentrations affects the release of anterior pituitary hormones. This cytokine may serve as an important messenger from lymphocytes exerting a direct paracrine action on the pituitary by its release from lymphocytes in the gland or concentrations in the blood that reach the gland may be sufficient to activate it.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.88.7.2961","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2006,5,31]],"date-time":"2006-05-31T07:56:40Z","timestamp":1149062200000},"page":"2961-2965","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":90,"title":["Anterior pituitary hormone control by interleukin 2."],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"88","author":[{"given":"S","family":"Karanth","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9040."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S M","family":"McCann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9040."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1991,4]]},"container-title":["Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1073\/pnas.88.7.2961","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,13]],"date-time":"2022-04-13T13:04:40Z","timestamp":1649855080000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/full\/10.1073\/pnas.88.7.2961"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[1991,4]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-print":{"date-parts":[[1991,4]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1073\/pnas.88.7.2961"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.88.7.2961","relation":{},"ISSN":["0027-8424","1091-6490"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0027-8424","type":"print"},{"value":"1091-6490","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[1991,4]]},"assertion":[{"value":"1991-04-01","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}