Investigations on the triiodothyronine (T3)-specificity of thyrotropic (TSH) and gonadotropic (HCG) hormone in the unicellular Tetrahymena

Abstract

In a previous experiment thyrotropin (TSH) increased the triiodothyronine (T3) production of Tetrahymena and chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) moderately overlapped the effect. At present the production of three amino acid type (histamine, serotonin, epinephrine) and one peptide (endorphin) hormones were studied under the effect of TSH or HCG, in tryptone-yeast (TY) or salt (Losina-Losinsky) medium. The duration of the effect was 10 min. TSH significantly (with almost 20%) decreased epinephrine production in TY medium and HCG similarly decreased epinephrine and increased histamine level. In salt solution TSH as well as HCG decreased the level of serotonin. The results show that at this low level of phylogeny TSH effect is not completely thyroxine-specific, however it is not general. HCG overlaps TSH effect on epinephrine and serotonin production, however its effect is broader. The experiments also demonstrate that the effect of pituitary trop-hormones can be bidirectional in Tetrahymena, as histamine level was increased and epinephrine level was decreased by HCG, in the same cells.