Neuropeptide-B (NPB) and neuropeptide-W (NPW) are recently discovered endogenous ligands of the GPR7- and GPR8-receptors (R), which in humans are expressed in the hypothalamus and probably involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis and neuroendocrine axes. GPR8-Rs are absent in rodents, where the GPR8-like-R has been described. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction detected the expression of NPB, NPW, GPR7-R and GPR8-like-R mRNAs in rat adrenocortical cells (both freshly-dispersed and 4-day-cultured cells). NPB did not acutely (60-min exposure) alter basal aldosterone secretion from freshly dispersed zona glomerulosa cells, while NPW raised it. Both NPB and NPW enhanced ACTH-stimulated aldosterone secretion and did not affect either basal or ACTH-stimulated corticosterone production by dispersed zona fasciculata/reticularis (ZF/R) cells. The prolonged (4-day) exposure to NPW, but not NPB, raised corticosterone secretion from cultured ZF/R cells, and both neuropeptides increased the proliferation rate of cultured cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that NPB and NPW affect rat adrenocortical function, so they may be included in that large family of peptides involved in the autocrine-paracrine stimulation of secretion and growth of adrenal cortex.

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