Glucocorticoids Inhibit CRH/AVP-Evoked Bursting Activity of Male Murine Anterior Pituitary Corticotrophs

Corticotroph cells from the anterior pituitary are an integral component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis which governs the neuroendocrine response to stress. Corticotrophs are electrically excitable and fire spontaneous single-spike action potentials and also display secretagogue-induced bursting behaviour. HPA axis function is dependent on effective negative feedback where elevated plasma glucocorticoids result in inhibition at the level of both the pituitary and the hypothalamus. In this study, we have used an electrophysiological approach coupled with mathematical modelling to investigate the regulation of spontaneous and CRH/AVP-induced activity of corticotrophs by glucocorticoids. We reveal that pretreatment of corticotrophs with 100 nM corticosterone (90 and 150 min, CORT) reduces spontaneous activity and prevents a transition from spiking to bursting following CRH/AVP stimulation. In addition, previous studies have identified a role for large-conductance calcium- and voltage-activated potassium (BK) channels in the generation of secretagogue-induced bursting in corticotrophs. Using the dynamic clamp technique, we demonstrated that CRH-induced bursting can be switched to spiking by subtracting a fast BK current, while addition of a fast BK current can induce bursting in CORT-treated cells. In addition, recordings from BK knockout mice (BK(-/-)) revealed that CORT can also inhibit excitability through BK-independent mechanisms to control spike frequency. Thus, we have established that glucocorticoids can modulate multiple properties of corticotroph electrical excitability through both BK-dependent and BK-independent mechanisms.