Résumé : Adenylate cyclase activity was studied in anterior pituitary homogenates from young adult (6 months) and old (20 and 24 months) male rats. Basal, NaF-, GTP-, 5'-guanylimidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p)- and forskolin-stimulated activities were similar in the three groups, implying that the stimulatory guanyl nucleotide regulatory binding site (NS) and the catalytical unit were unaffected by aging. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was also identical in the three groups. The efficacy (i.e., the maximum effect) of growth hormone-releasing factor [GRF(1-29)-NH2] on adenylate activity was reduced by 45-49% in old and senescent rats with no change in peptide potency (i.e., the concentration required for half-maximal enzyme stimulation). These results suggest that aging induced a selective loss of functional GRF receptors but influenced neither the coupling between receptors, NS and the catalytic unit nor the efficacy of the catalytic unit per se.