The GnRH antagonist antide is among the most promising "third generation" compounds available for clinical evaluation. In primates, antide manifests prolonged (several weeks) and reversible inhibition of pituitary gonadotropin secretion after a single high dose injection. In the present study, we have examined the effects of antide on pituitary gonadotropin secretion in vitro. Dispersed anterior pituitary cells from adult female rats were plated (48 h; 5 x 10(5) cells/well), washed, and exposed to increasing concentrations of antide for up to 48 h. Media were removed, and cells were washed twice and then incubated with GnRH (1 x 10(-8) M) plus antide for 4 h. Media and cell lysates were assayed for LH/FSH by RIA. Antide had no effect on basal LH/FSH secretion at any dose tested (10(-6)-10(-12) M). In contrast, GnRH-stimulated LH/FSH secretion was inhibited by this GnRH antagonist in a dose- and time-dependent manner. When incubated simultaneously, antide blocked GnRH-stimulated gonadotropin secretion, with a maximal effect at 10(-6) M (ED50, 10(-7) M). Preincubation of pituitary cells with antide for 6-48 h before GnRH exposure shifted the dose-response curve to the left; the maximally effective dose was 10(-8) M; the ED50 was 10(-10) M antide after 48-h preincubation. Intracellular LH/FSH levels increased concomitant with the decrease in secreted gonadotropins. Total LH/FSH levels (secreted plus cell content) remained unchanged. The inhibition of LH secretion by antide was specific for GnRH-stimulated gonadotropin secretion; antide had no effect on K(+)-stimulated LH secretion. Moreover, antide had little or no residual effect on LH secretion; full recovery of GnRH responsiveness in vitro occurred within 4 h after removal of antide. Lineweaver-Burke analysis of antide inhibition of GnRH-stimulated LH secretion indicated that antide is a direct competitor of GnRH at the level of the pituitary GnRH receptor. In summary, antide is a pure antagonist of GnRH stimulation of gonadotropin secretion; no agonistic actions of antide were manifest in vitro. Moreover, antide has no apparent noxious or toxic effect on pituitary cells in culture; the actions of antide are immediately reversible upon removal of antide from pituitary gonadotropes. We conclude that the long term inhibition of gonadotropin secretion by antide in vivo is not due to deleterious effects of this compound at the level of the pituitary gonadotrope.