THE PITUITARY TSH RESPONSE TO TRH IS INVERSELY RELATED TO THE PLASMA TSH CONCENTRATION AND DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PITUITARY TSH CONTENT DURING HYPOTHYROIDISM IN THE RAT

We studied the effects of degree and duration of hypothyroidism on the pituitary TSH concentration and the pituitary TSH secretory response to TRH. Varying degrees of hypothyroidism were achieved in thyroparathyroidectomized rats (THYREX) by continuous sc. infusion of T3 (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 .mu.g/100 g .cntdot. day) or T4 (0.6, 1.2, or 1.8 .mu.g/100 g .cntdot. day). While T3 was more potent that T4, both resulted in a dose-dependent suppression of the post-thyroidectomy rise in TSH. After 7 or 14 days of severe hypothyroidism (non-replaced THYREX rats) the pituitary TSH secretory response to TRH (250 ng/100 g body weight, i.v) was found to be decreased when compared to that of euthyroid rats. Decreasing the degree of hypothyroidism increased the pituitary secretory response to TRH and the pituitary TSH content. The results indicate that in the hypothyroid rat; 1) severe hypothyroidism results in a blunted pituitary TSH response to TRH through 14 days after thyroidectomy, 2) at 7 and 14 days after thyroidectomy the pituitary TSH response to exogenous TRH is inversely related to the basal plasma TSH concentration, 3) the pituitary TSH concentration increases with the duration of hypothyroidism, 4) the pituitary TSH content is increased by low rates of thyroid hormone replacement and 5) the pituitary TSH response to exogenous TRH is directly related to the pituitary TSH content.