Histamine (HA) stimulates the release of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides ACTH, beta-endorphin (beta-END), beta-lipotropin and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and HA is involved in the mediation of the stress-induced release of these peptides. The effect of HA is indirect and may involve the hypothalamic regulating factors, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and/or arginine-vasopressin (AVP). We studied the effect of immunoneutralization with specific antisera against CRH or AVP on the response of ACTH and beta-END to HA, restraint stress, CRH, AVP or a posterior pituitary extract in male rats. Intracerebroventricular infusion of HA (34-540 nmol) increased the plasma levels of ACTH and beta-END immunoreactivity (beta-ENDir) in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with antiserum to CRH or AVP prevented the ACTH response to 270 nmol HA and inhibited the beta-ENDir response by 30-60%. One to five minutes of restraint stress caused an increase in the plasma levels of ACTH and beta-ENDir. The increase was dependent on the duration of stress exposure. Pretreatment with CRH antiserum abolished the ACTH response to 5 min of restraint stress and inhibited the beta-ENDir response by 60%. Immunoneutralization with AVP antiserum had only half the inhibitory effect of that seen with CRH antiserum. CRH (100 pmol i.v.) increased the plasma levels of ACTH and beta-ENDir. This effect was abolished by pretreatment with CRH antiserum, whereas pretreatment with AVP antiserum prevented the CRH-induced ACTH release and inhibited the beta-ENDir response by 50%. AVP (24-800 pmol i.v.) stimulated ACTH and beta-ENDir in a dose-dependent manner. CRH and AVP antisera each prevented the effect of AVP (800 pmol) on ACTH secretion, whereas the beta-ENDir response to AVP was only inhibited by about 60% by the antisera. An extract of the posterior pituitary gland administered in a dose corresponding to 0.15 or 0.5 pituitary equivalents had no effect on ACTH secretion, while 1.0 pituitary equivalent increased the ACTH concentration in plasma. This effect was abolished by AVP antiserum. The posterior pituitary extract caused a dose-dependent rise in plasma beta-ENDir which might be due to an unavoidable contamination of the posterior pituitary extract by a small amount of beta-END from the intermediate lobe. Consistent with this view, AVP antiserum had no effect on the rise in the plasma concentration of beta-ENDir following administration of the posterior pituitary extract.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)