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Benzodiazepines are pharmacological agents widely used for their anxiolytic and anticonvulsant properties. However, as these drugs are known to antagonize the binding and action of thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) in pituitary tissue, the possibility that they may modulate GH secretion was investigated in domestic fowl, in which TRH is a GH-releasing factor. Chlordiazepoxide (an antagonist of central-type benzodiazepine receptors) had no significant effect on the basal release of GH from incubated chicken pituitary glands, but at concentrations > 10 µmol/l chlordiazepoxide suppressed somatotroph responsiveness and sensitivity to TRH stimulation. At this concentration, chlordiazepoxide competitively displaced the binding of [³H]3-methyl-histidine²-TRH ([³H]Me-TRH) to chicken pituitary membranes. The prior incubation of pituitary glands with chlordiazepoxide had no significant effect on the number of [³H]Me-TRH-binding sites, which were also unaffected by the administration of chlordiazepoxide in vivo. However, contrary to its effects in vitro, chlordiazepoxide reduced basal GH secretion in vivo, whilst potentiating the GH response to systemic TRH challenge. These results demonstrate benzodiazepine antagonism of TRH-binding sites in domestic fowl and a biphasic modulation of GH secretion, which may be mediated through opposing actions at pituitary and central sites.

Journal of Endocrinology (1993) 137, 35–42