Effect of anterior hypothalamic deafferentation and continuous growth hormone infusion on the hepatic synthesis of α(2u)-globulin in the male rat

Anterior hypothalamic deafferentation and infusion of human GH (hGH) in the normal male rat caused a marked reduction in the hepatic concentration of α(2u)-globulin, an androgen-dependent protein. Although s.c. injections of hGH (twice-daily) resulted in more than a 50% reduction in the hepatic level of α(2u)-globulin, the same dose of hGH when administered continuously through osmotic minipumps caused a threefold greater inhibition. The decreased hepatic concentration of α(2u)-globulin after hGH administration was associated with corresponding changes in the hepatic level of translatable α(2u)-globulin messenger RNA. Continuous infusion of hGH through osmotic minipumps and removal of the anterior hypothalamic influence on GH secretion by deafferentation also caused a marked reduction in the cytoplasmic androgen-binding activity of the rat liver. These results suggest that alterations in the level and pattern of GH secretion may influence hepatic androgen-binding activity and α(2u)-globulin synthesis.