Hypothalamus

Pituitary
Hormones
Assignment 15 25 minutes
The hypothalamus is an
important regulator of
homeostasis. Specifically,
describe how the
hypothalamus regulates (a)
emotional/behavioral patterns;
(b) eating and drinking; (c)
body temperature; (d) circadian
rhythms.



Describe the shape/size of the
pituitary gland and location.


Discuss the different types of
pituitary cells. List hormones
secreted by these cells.

List 3 organs or tissues that are
not exclusively classified as
endocrine glands but contain
cells that secrete hormones.
There is no master
control center that
regulates the entire
endocrine system, but
the pituitary gland and
nearby regions of the
brain, the
hypothalamus, have a
more wide-ranging
influence.
http://www.dnatube.com/video/1113
/The-Endocrine-System-How-it-
Functions

http://www.dnatube.com/video/1962
/Endocrine-System-Pituitary-Gland

http://www.dnatube.com/video/1963
/Endocrine-System-Pancreas



Exocrine Glands
Secrete their products into
ducts that carry the secretions
into body cavities, into the
lumen of an organ, or to the
outer surface of the body.

E.g., sudoriferous (sweat),
sebaceous (oil), mucous
and digestive glands.
Endocrine Glands
Secrete their products
(hormones) into the interstitial
fluid surrounding the secretory
cells rather than into ducts.
From the interstitial fluid,
hormones diffuse into blood
capillaries and blood carries
them to target cells throughout
the body.

Intestinal Glands
intestinal crypt, also crypt of Lieberkhn
and intestinal gland, is a gland found in the
epithelial lining of the small intestine and
colon.
The crypts secrete various enzymes, including
sucrase and maltase, along with
endopeptidases and exopeptidases.

The basal portion of the Crypt contains
multipotent stem cells. At each mitosis one
daughter remains a stem cell while the other
differentiates and migrates up the side of the
crypt and eventually the villus. (Goblet cells
are among the cells produced in this fashion).

showing the crypts of Lieberkhn -
bottom 1/3 of image. H&E stain.
Endocrine glands include the
pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid,
adrenal and pineal glands.

Several organs and tissues are
not exclusively classified as
endocrine glands but contain cells
that secrete hormones. These
include the hypothalamus,
thymus, pancreas, ovaries, testes,
kidney, stomach, liver, small
intestine, skin, heart, adipose
tissue and placenta.
All endocrine glands and
hormone-secreting cells
constitute the endocrine
system.

Science of the structure and
function of the endocrine
glands and the diagnosis
and treatment of disorders
of the endocrine system is
endocrinology.
Hormone Mechanisms
http://www.dnatube.co
m/video/3007/The-
Estrogen-Receptor-I-
Hormonal-
Mechanisms-in-the-
Body

http://msjensen.cehd.u
mn.edu/1135/Links/Ani
mations/Flash/0020-
swf_positive_and_n.s
wf

Aldosterone
http://msjensen.cehd.u
mn.edu/1135/Links/Ani
mations/Flash/0040-
swf_effect_of_aldo.swf

http://msjensen.cehd.u
mn.edu/1135/Links/Ani
mations/Flash/0023-
swf_intracellular_.swf


Anatomy
The hypothalamus
forms the floor and
walls of the 3
rd

ventricle of the brain.

It regulates primitive
functions of the body
ranging from water
balance to childbirth.
Many of its functions
are carried out by way
of the pituitary gland,
which is closely
associated with it.
Pituitary Gland
The pituitary gland is
suspended from the
hypothalamus by a stalk
and housed in the sella
turnica of the sphenoid
bone.

It is composed of 2
structures the
adenohypohysis and
neurohypophysis that
arise independently in the
embryo and have entirely
separate functions.


Pituitary secretes hormones that are important to growth
and reproduction




Pituitary Gland
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is a
region of the brain that
contains several types of
neurons responsible for
secreting different
hormones.
Thyrotropin-releasing
hormone (TRH)
Gonadotropin-releasing
hormone (GnRH)
Growth hormone-
releasing hormone
(GHRH)
Corticotropin-releasing
hormone (CRH)
Somatostatin
Dopamine

All of these hormones are
released into the blood in the
capillaries and travel
immediately in portal veins
to a second capillary bed in the
anterior lobe of the pituitary,
where they exert their effects.

These hormones are released in
periodic spurts. In fact,
replacement hormone therapy
with these hormones does not
work unless the replacements
are also given in spurts.

Two other hypothalamic
hormones:

vasopressin and
Oxytocin

Vasopressin and Oxytocin
travel in the neurons
themselves to the
posterior lobe of the
pituitary where they are
released into the
circulation.


Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)

TRH is a tripeptide
(GluHisPro).

When TRH reaches the
anterior lobe of the
pituitary it stimulates the
release there of

thyroid-stimulating
hormone (TSH)

prolactin (PRL)

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone
(GnRH)
GnRH is a peptide of 10 amino
acids.

Its secretion at the onset of
puberty triggers sexual
development and from then on it
is essential for normal sexual
physiology of both males and
females.

In both sexes, its secretion
occurs in periodic pulses usually
occurring every 12 hours.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
FSH is a heterodimeric glycoprotein
consisting of the same alpha chain found in
TSH (and LH)

a beta chain of 118 amino acids, which
gives it its unique properties.
Synthesis and release of FSH is triggered
by the arrival from the hypothalamus of
gonadotropin-releasing hormone
(GnRH). The effect of FSH depends on
one's sex
In sexually-mature females, FSH (assisted
by LH) acts on the follicle to stimulate it to
release estrogens.

FSH produced by recombinant DNA
technology (Gonal-f) is available to
promote ovulation in women planning to
undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other
forms of assisted reproductive technology.
In sexually-mature males, FSH acts on
spermatogonia stimulating (with the aid of
testosterone) the production of sperm
LH is synthesized within the same pituitary cells as
FSH and under the same stimulus (GnRH). It is
also a heterodimeric glycoprotein consisting of

the same 92-amino acid alpha subunit found in FSH
and TSH (as well as in chorionic gonadotropin);

a beta chain of 121 amino acids that is responsible for
its properties.
The effects of LH also
depend on sex.

In sexually-mature
females,

a surge of LH triggers the
completion of meiosis I of
the egg and its release
(ovulation) in the middle
of the cycle
LH stimulates the now-
empty follicle to develop
into the corpus luteum,
which secretes
progesterone during the
latter half of the menstrual
cycle.

Women with a severe LH
deficiency can now be
treated with human LH
(Luveris) produced by
recombinant DNA
technology.

LH acts on the interstitial cells (also known
as Leydig cells) of the testes stimulating
them to synthesize and secrete the male
sex hormone, testosterone.

LH in males is also known as interstitial
cell stimulating hormone (ICSH).
Prolactin
Prolactin is a protein of 198 amino acids. During pregnancy it helps
in the preparation of the breasts for future milk production.

After birth, prolactin promotes the synthesis of milk.

Prolactin secretion is

stimulated by TRH
repressed by estrogens and dopamine.

In pregnant mice, prolactin stimulates the growth of new neurons in
the olfactory center of the brain
Growth Hormone (GH)
Human growth hormone (HGH; also called
somatotropin) is a protein of 191 amino
acids.

The GH-secreting cells are stimulated to
synthesize and release GH by the
intermittent arrival of growth hormone
releasing hormone (GHRH) from the
hypothalamus.
GH promotes body growth by:
binding to receptors on the surface of liver cells
this stimulates them to release insulin-like growth
factor-1 (IGF-1; also known as somatomedin)

IGF-1 acts directly on the ends of the long
bones promoting their growth
ACTH the adrenocorticotropic
hormone
ACTH is a peptide of 39 amino acids. It is
cut from a larger precursor
proopiomelanocortin (POMC).
ACTH acts on the cells of the adrenal cortex,
stimulating them to produce

glucocorticoids, like cortisol
mineralocorticoids, like aldosterone
androgens (male sex hormones, like testosterone

in the fetus, ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex to
synthesize a precursor of estrogen called
dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S)
which helps prepare the mother for giving birth.
Production of ACTH depends on the
intermittent arrival of corticotropin-
releasing hormone (CRH) from the
hypothalamus.
Somatostatin
Somatostatin was first
discovered in
hypothalamic extracts
and identified as a
hormone that inhibited
secretion of growth
hormone.
Subsequently,
somatostatin was
found to be secreted
by a broad range of
tissues, including
pancreas, intestinal
tract and regions of the
central nervous system
outside the
hypothalamus.

Two forms of somatostatin are synthesized.
They are referred to as SS-14 and SS-28,
reflecting their amino acid chain length.

Both forms of somatostatin are generated by
proteolytic cleavage of prosomatostatin, which
itself is derived from preprosomatostatin. Two
cysteine residules in SS-14 allow the peptide to
form an internal disulfide bond.
Somatostatin acts by both endocrine and
paracrine pathways to affect its target cells.

A majority of the circulating somatostatin
appears to come from the pancreas and
gastrointestinal tract.

The effects: "somatostatin inhibits the
secretion of many other hormones".
Effects on the Pituitary Gland
Somatostatin was named for its effect of inhibiting
secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary
gland.

Experimentally, all known stimuli for growth
hormone secretion are suppressed by
somatostatin administration.

Additionally, animals treated with antisera to
somatostatin show elevated blood concentrations
of growth hormone, as do animals that are
genetically engineered to disrupt their
somatostatin gene.
Ultimately, growth hormone secretion is
controlled by the interaction of somatostatin
and growth hormone releasing hormone,
both of which are secreted by hypothalamic
neurons.
Effects on the Pancreas
Cells within pancreatic islets secrete insulin,
glucagon and somatostatin. Somatostatin appears
to act primarily in a paracrine manner to inhibit the
secretion of both insulin and glucagon.

It also has the effect in suppressing pancreatic
exocrine secretions, by inhibiting cholecystokinin-
stimulated enzyme secretion and secretin-
stimulated bicarbonate
Effects on the Nervous System
Somatostatin is often referred to as having
neuromodulatory activity within the central nervous
sytem, and appears to have a variety of complex
effects on neural transmission.

Injection of somatostatin into the brain of rodents
leads to such things as increased arousal and
decreased sleep, and impairment of some motor
responses.
Pharmacologic Uses

Somatostatin and its synthetic analogs are
used clinically to treat a variety of
neoplasms.

It is also used in to treat giantism and
acromegaly, due to its ability to inhibit
growth hormone secretion
Dopamine
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that occurs
in a wide variety of animals, including both
vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain,
this phenethylamine functions as a
neurotransmitter, activating the five types of
dopamine receptorsD1, D2, D3, D4, and
D5and their variants.
Dopamine is produced in several areas of
the brain, including the substantia nigra and
the ventral tegmental area.

Dopamine is also a neurohormone released
by the hypothalamus. Its main function as a
hormone is to inhibit the release of prolactin
from the anterior lobe of the pituitary.
Posterior Lobe: Pituitary
The posterior lobe of the pituitary releases two hormones,
both synthesized in the hypothalamus, into the circulation.

Vasopressin
Vasopressin is a peptide of 9 amino acids (Cys-Tyr-Phe-
Gln-Asn-Cys-Pro-Arg-Gly). It is also known as arginine
vasopressin (AVP) and the antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
Vasopressin acts on the collecting ducts of the kidney to
facilitate the reabsorption of water into the blood. This it
acts to reduce the volume of urine formed (giving it its
name of antidiuretic hormone).

A deficiency of vasopressin or inheritance of mutant genes
for its receptor (called V2)
leads to excessive loss of urine, a condition known as
diabetes insipidus.

The most severely-afflicted patients may urinate as much
as 30 liters (almost 8 gallons) of urine each day.

The disease is accompanied by terrible thirst, and patients
must continually drink water to avoid dangerous
dehydration.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a peptide of 9 amino acids (Cys-Tyr-Ile-Gln-Asn-Cys-Pro-Leu-Gly).

It acts on certain smooth muscles:

stimulating contractions of the uterus at the time of birth;
stimulating release of milk when the baby begins to suckle.

Oxytocin is often given to prospective mothers to hasten birth.

Oxytocin also acts on the nucleus accumbens and amygdala in the brain
where it enhances:

bonding between males and females after they have mated;
bonding between a mother and her newborn;
and, in humans, increases the level of one's trust in other people.
Dopamine can be supplied as a medication that acts on the
sympathetic nervous system, producing effects such as
increased heart rate and blood pressure.

However, because dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain
barrier, dopamine given as a drug does not directly affect
the central nervous system.

To increase the amount of dopamine in the brains of
patients with diseases such as Parkinson's disease and
dopa-responsive dystonia, L-DOPA, which is the precursor
of dopamine, can be given because it can cross the blood-
brain barrier.
Summary
Hypothalamus and
Pituitary Anatomy

Function

Hormones