Substance P (SP) stimulates polyphosphoinositide breakdown in the rat anterior pituitary through an NK-1 receptor. In the present study we present evidence that the coupling between the SP-NK1 receptor complex and polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) in rat anterior pituitary membranes may involve a mechanism consistent with a GTP-binding protein. The formation of inositol phosphates from [3H]myo-inositol-labelled anterior pituitary membranes induced by SP was potentiated by GTP and non-hydrolysable guanine nucleotides. The stimulatory effects of SP alone and SP plus GTP could be blocked by addition of GDP-beta-S (guanosine 5-O-(thiodiphosphate] in excess. Basal and SP plus guanine nucleotide-induced inositol phosphate formation were stimulated by fluoride, whereas the effect of SP alone was inhibited. Pretreatment of anterior pituitary membranes with sodium deoxycholate attenuated the inositol phosphate response elicited by GTP and GTP-gamma-S, whereas basal and SP-stimulated inositol phosphate production showed a peak at 1 mg sodium deoxycholate/ml. SP, fluoride and guanine nucleotide stimulatory effects on hydrolysis of polyphosphoinositide (PPI) were unaffected by pretreatment of anterior pituitary cells with cholera or pertussis toxin for 12h. Treatment of anterior pituitary membranes with cholera and pertussis toxin yielded [32P]ADP-ribosylation of two proteins with molecular masses of 45 and 41 kDa respectively. We conclude that SP coupling to PI-PLC through the NK1 receptor in the rat anterior pituitary involves a GTP-binding mechanism distinct from the G-proteins associated with adenylate cyclase, Gs and Gi.