Opioid peptides of the pituitary and hypothalamus: changes in pregnant and lactating rats

Immunoreactive (Ir) β-endorphin concentrations were determined in plasma, anterior pituitary (AP), neurointermediate pituitary lobe (NIL) and mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) of pregnant (12-14 and 18-20 days) and fertile control rats, during labour and lactation. Immunoreactive Met-enkephalin concentrations were also evaluated in the MBH. Concentrations of Ir β-endorphin in plasma, AP and NIL of rats during early and late pregnancy were significantly higher than in controls, the plasma and AP contents showing an increasing pattern in the second half of gestation. During labour, Ir β-endorphin concentrations in plasma and AP reached the highest values, whereas those in NIL remained unchanged. Lactating rats showed Ir β-endorphin concentrations in NIL and plasma in a range similar to that found in pregnant rats, resulting in concentrations in the AP not significantly different from those of non-pregnant controls. Immunoreactive β-endorphin and Ir Met-enkephalin concentrations in MBH of pregnant rats were almost twice as high as in controls, rising markedly during labour; during lactation levels were in the same range as in non-pregnant controls. These results indicate that pregnancy and labour are characterized by high plasma, pituitary and hypothalamic concentrations of Ir β-endorphin as well as by high hypothalamic Ir Met-enkephalin levels, and that Ir β-endorphin concentrations vary differently during pregnancy, lactation and labour in the two pituitary lobes, supporting the existence of different control mechanisms in the AP and NIL.