SELECTIVE GROWTH HORMONE AND CYCLIC AMP STIMULATING ACTIVITY IS PRESENT IN A HUMAN PANCREATIC ISLET CELL TUMOR

Abstract

A pancreatic tumor was surgically removed from an acromegalic woman and placed into cell culture medium. Growth hormone (GH) releasing activity was observed by testing the tumor cell medium in primary cultures of rat anterior pituitary cells. This tumor cell medium also markedly increased rat cytosolic cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation for up to 4 hours. Somatostatin antagonized the enhanced GH release and cAMP content while neither prolactin nor LH secretion was affected by the tumor medium, suggesting an inherent specificity of the material for GH release.