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Studies on the localization of secretin release from canine intestine.

In conscious dogs with chronic pancreatic fistulas, duodenal perfusion with HCl (16 mmol/h) stimulated pancreatic HCO-3 secretion to a similar degree as exogenous secretin (2 U/kg X h), while meat feeding (500 g) and duodenal perfusion with oleate (16 mmol/h) increased this secretion to about 58 and 43% of the highest response to secretin. Plasma secretin increments with duodenal HCl, feeding and duodenal oleate amounted to about 45, 13 and 8% of that achieved with secretin, producing the highest HCO-3 response. Perfusion of the in situ intestine with HCl at gradually increasing rates produced HCO-3 responses similar to those induced by exogenous secretin in graded doses, but the increments in plasma secretin with duodenal HCl were only about half those obtained with exogenous secretin, producing an equal rate of HCO-3 secretion. HCl perfusion of isolated Thiry loops made of the duodenojejunal portion also stimulated the HCO-3 secretion in a dose-dependent way, but raised plasma secretin only to about half that attained with secretin, producing a similar secretory rate. HCl in the proximal duodenal and distal jejunal loop slightly stimulated the HCO-3 secretion without affecting plasma secretin, and that in the ileal loop was without any effect on the pancreatic or plasma secretin. This study provides evidence that (a) endogenous secretin is released by feeding and duodenal perfusion with HCl and oleate, but only HCl appears to release sufficient amounts of secretin to drive the HCO-3 secretion, and (b) the release of secretin is confined mainly to the distal duodenum and proximal jejunum.

Animals↗

Response of several adrenal steroids to ACTH stimulation in essential hypertension.

Plasma concentrations of progesterone (P), deoxycorticosterone (DOC), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OH P), corticosterone (B), deoxycortisol (S), cortisol (F), and aldosterone were measured in 8 control subjects and in 10 patients with low and normal renin essential hypertension (EH) before and 4 and 8 h after an iv infusion of 25 units of ACTH. Secretion rates of 18-hydroxy-11-deoxycorticosterone (18-OH DOC) were measured for the 24 h prior to and the day of the ACTH infusions. The hypertensive patients had significantly higher plasma levels of aldosterone, DOC and S after ACTH than the controls, whereas plasma B levels were significantly lower. The low renin subgroup considered separately had significantly higher plasma levels of aldosterone and DOC than controls, and higher levels of B and lower levels of F than the normal renin subgroup in response to ACTH. Although not significantly different, the plasma levels of P and the secretion rate of 18-OH DOC tended to be higher, and plasma 17-OH P and F levels lower after ACTH in patients with EH than in controls. The low renin subgroup tended to have the highest plasma S levels and 18-OH DOC secretory rates and lowest F levels. Estimations of adrenal 11beta-hydroxylating efficiency in response to ACTH in patients and controls by plasma steroid ratios revealed significantly lower B/DOC ratios in both low and normal renin patients compared to controls, supported by somewhat lower F/S ratios in these patients, especially those in the low renin subgroup. Altered 17-hydroxylating efficiency seen by significantly lower 17-OH P/P ratios were also found in those with EH, supported by somewhat lower F/B and S/DOC ratios in these patients, agian especially in the low renin subgroup. These data are compatible with a pattern of altered adrenocortical steroid biosynthesis in essential hypertension bearing features similar to adrenal 11beta and 17alpha-hydroxylation deficiencies.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Gastric secretion and emptying after ordinary meals in duodenal ulcer.

We have studied the gastric response to an ordinary solid-liquid meal in 12 patients with active duodenal ulcer and 8 healthy volunteers. Our method employs gastric and duodenal markers to quantify acid, pepsin, and volume outputs in response to the meal, without manipulating intragastric pH. Intragastric volume, rate of gastric emptying, delivery of acid into the duodenum, and serum gastrin response were also measured simultaneously. On a separate day, peak acid output in response to betazole (1.5 mg per kg subcutaneously) was determined. Our results indicate an inappropriately prolonged gastric secretory response to meals in duodenal ulcer disease, without a concomitant increase in peak postprandial secretory rates or an increase in serum immunoreactive gastrin levels. Further, the stomach in duodenal ulcer disease did not "retain" the additional acid secreted in the later postprandial period, and abnormally high rates of acid delivery into the duodenum occurred. Our data are consistent with a dual defect in the duodenal mechanisms regulating both acid secretion and acid delivery into the duodenum.

Adult↗

Effects of synthetic atrial natriuretic peptide on renal function and renin release in acute experimental heart failure.

Studies were performed in anesthetized control dogs (n = 6) and in dogs (n = 6) with acute low-output heart failure produced by inflation of a balloon in the thoracic inferior vena cava. Studies were designed to determine the effects of synthetic atrial natriuretic peptide on renal function and renin release in this acute high-renin, sodium-retaining preparation. Intrarenal infusion of synthetic atrial natriuretic peptide (0.3 micrograms X kg-1 X min-1) resulted in decreases in arterial pressure and renal blood flow in both groups. Glomerular filtration rate increased in both low-output (delta + 10.7 +/- 3.1 ml/min) and control (delta + 8.7 +/- 2.9 ml/min) groups. Fractional lithium excretion, a marker of proximal tubule reabsorption, also increased in both low-output (delta + 12.0 +/- 4.6%) and control (delta + 14.3 +/- 5.0%) groups. Renin secretory rate decreased in the low-output group from 852.8 +/- 183.0 to 149.5 +/- 73.7 ng/min and in the control group from 308.5 +/- 84.5 to 44.5 +/- 27.5 ng/ml. Intrarenal infusion of atrial natriuretic peptide resulted in an attenuated increase in both urinary sodium excretion (delta + 42.3 +/- 10.7 vs delta + 201.2 +/- 37.9 mueq/min) and fractional excretion of sodium (delta + 0.48 +/- 0.13% vs delta + 2.85 +/- 0.45%) in the low-output as compared with the control group. Our studies demonstrate that administration of synthetic atrial natriuretic peptide results in an increase in glomerular filtration rate and a decrease in proximal tubule reabsorption, as estimated by lithium excretion, in both control dogs and those with acute low-output heart failure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Hepatosplanchnic insulin kinetics in awake endotoxemic Yucatan minipigs: the "misinformed B-cell" hypothesis revisited.

Increased pancreatic insulin secretion may be one of the factors associated with the insulinlike activity (ILA) of endotoxemia. While there is little doubt that the prominent hypoglycemia of endotoxicosis is often preceded by systemic hyperinsulinemia, the cause of this increased secretion and its cause-and-effect relationship to the glucose deficit is less obvious. Recently, a "misinformed B-cell" hypothesis was proposed in which it was suggested that increased glucose flux across the pancreatic B-cell early in endotoxemia might lead to a misinterpretation of the existing glycemic state, resulting in increased insulin release. This possibility was based in part on the observation that increased 6-3H-glucose-derived rates of glucose disappearance (Rd) in endotoxic Yucatan minipigs preceded the onset of systemic hyperinsulinemia. Examination herein of the chronological order of events in this group of pigs and three other groups treated with lidocaine, naloxone, or captopril reveals an increase in pancreatic insulin secretory rate most often before increases in systemic Rd. Each of the three therapies were administered as a primed continuous intravenous infusion, 1 hour after the initiation of a continuous intravenous infusion of Difco 055:B5 E. coli lipopolysaccharide at an LD67 dose of 15 micrograms/kg/hr. In those pigs receiving no therapy, lidocaine, or naloxone, significant increases in pancreatic insulin secretion recurred at 40, 40, and 60 min following the onset of endotoxemia respectively. This was followed in 20 min by the first significant increase in relative glucose disappearance rates (%Rd). Captopril-treated pigs experienced a significant increase in %Rd at 60 min, which was followed in 20 min by a significant increase in pancreatic insulin secretion. In all groups, a significant hyperinsulinemia occurred transiently at 80 min postendotoxin, followed in 20 min by the onset of significant hypoglycemia. These observations suggest that increases in %Rd and transient increases in insulin secretion may be simultaneous events at best, and that along with significant increases in absolute levels of hepatic insulin extraction (observed in all groups at 60 or 80 min postendotoxin) may indicate some local effect of insulin release on hepatic glucose.

Animals↗

Adrenergic receptors and secretory responses of the rat submandibular salivary gland after periodic incisor reduction.

The lower and upper incisors of female rats were repeatedly reduced every 48 hr for 21 days. A marked enlargement of the submandibular glands was observed at the end of this period. One day after the final reduction, dose dependent curves to phenylephrine and isoproterenol were obtained in relation to salivary flow rates. Secretory responses, expressed as mg/gland, showed that the dose response curve to the alpha1-adrenomimetic drug was not modified by treatment while that for isoproterenol was shifted to the right of the control. When the responses were expressed as microg of saliva/mg of wet tissue, the dose-response curve to both agonists was shifted to the right in the incisor-reduced group. (Activation of alpha2-adrenergic receptors by clonidine did not inhibit the responses to phenylephrine in the incisor-reduced rats.) Radioligand binding assays of alpha1-, beta- and alpha2-receptors did not show differences between control and experimental glands in terms of densities (Bmax) or affinities (Kd). The lack of correlation between the decrease in alpha2- and beta-mediated responses and the radioligand bindings suggests that postreceptor mechanisms are involved in the diminished secretory responses of the rat submandibular gland after periodic reduction or amputation of incisors.

Adrenergic Agonists↗

Modulation of the direct effect of corticosterone upon glucose-induced insulin secretion of rat isolated islets of Langerhans.

As a direct inhibiting effect of corticosterone (0.2 mg/l) has been shown upon 16.7 mmoles/l glucose-induced insulin secretion rate of rat islets of Langerhans, modulations of this inhibition were studied. The inhibitory effect was observed over a wide range of stimulatory glucose concentrations (8.3--33.4 mmoles/l), but not with non-stimulating glucose values (0-4.2 mmoles/l). During the steady-state insulin secretory rate induced by glucose 16.7 mmoles/l, the inhibiting effect needed about fifteen minutes to become statistically significant; it persisted as long as the glucose stimulation was maintained, independently of corticosterone presence. The inhibition during a subsequent incubation without corticosterone after a preincubation period with the steroid and glucose concentrations between 4.2 and 11.1 mmoles/l, appeared only if the glucose concentration during the preincubation period was a stimulating one. A minimal steroid presence time (10 min) appeared to be necessary for the induction of the subsequent inhibitory effect of corticosterone in presence of 16.7 mmoles/l glucose. Our data suggest that the inhibition of insulin secretion is constant over a wide range of glucose concentrations on condition that the hormone presence lasts more than ten minutes and glucose concentration is a stimulating one; then it persists as long as a stimulatory glucose concentration is provided.

Animals↗

A quantitative evaluation of the relationships between growth hormone secretion and delta wave electroencephalographic activity during normal sleep and after enrichment in delta waves.

The existence of a relationship between growth hormone (GH) release and slow-wave sleep (SWS), often studied in the past using conventional scoring of sleep stages, remains controversial. In the present study, this relationship was reevaluated by spectral analysis of the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) and deconvolution analysis of the plasma GH concentrations during normal nocturnal sleep and after enrichment in SWS by means of ritanserin, a selective 5-HT2 receptor antagonist. Eight healthy male subjects each participated in two randomized night studies after having received either a placebo or a 5-mg dose of ritanserin. They were subjected to 8 hours of polysomnography, including spectral analysis of the sleep EEG. Plasma GH levels were measured at 10-minute intervals. The mean delta absolute power and the mean GH secretory rates were significantly higher under ritanserin than under placebo for the first 3 hours after sleep onset (+24% and +29%, respectively). Their nocturnal profiles were significantly and positively correlated in all subjects (average r = 0.710 under placebo, 0.567 under ritanserin; p < 0.0001 in both cases). GH secretory pulses were found to be coincident with delta activity peaks in both directions. The amount of GH secreted during significant GH pulses was correlated with the amount of concomitant delta wave activity (r = 0.803 under placebo, r = 0.764 under ritanserin, p < 0.0001). Similarly, the amount of delta wave activity found during delta wave peaks was correlated with the amount of GH secreted concomitantly (r = 0.715 under placebo, r = 0.723 under ritanserin: p < 0.0001). These results demonstrate a close temporal and quantitative relationship between GH secretion and delta wave activity, which may be evidence of common stimulatory mechanisms.

Adult↗

Glucose has regulatory effects on insulin release also in the virtual absence of extracellular Ca2+.

The glucose effect on insulin release in a Ca(2+)-deficient medium was analyzed in perifusion experiments with aggregates of cells prepared by dispersal of the beta-cell-rich pancreatic islets of ob/ob-mice. Hyperosmolar additions of 20 mM D-glucose or its poorly metabolized transport analogue 3-0-methyl-D-glucose resulted in 50% suppression of the secretory rate. However, after isosmolar additions of the sugars, replacing non-penetrating sucrose, there was a stimulation of insulin release. Whereas D-glucose was less effective than 3-O-methyl-D-glucose in stimulating insulin release after isosmolar addition, the opposite was found for the enhanced secretory response obtained when the sugars were excluded from the perifusion medium. The studies indicate that D-glucose has regulatory actions on insulin release also in the virtual absence of extracellular Ca2+. This effect is not only due to osmolar influences but involves also direct suppression of the secretory activity probably mediated by the metabolism of the sugar.

3-O-Methylglucose↗

Deleterious effects of fungizone on growth hormone and prolactin secretion by cultured GH3 cells.

The rates at which growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) are spontaneously secreted from a rat pituitary tumor cell line (GH3) were significantly reduced when these cells were maintained in medium containing 2.5 micrograms/ml Fungizone (Fz). The reduction in hormone secretion was not immediately reversed by removal of Fz during perifusion, but after 3 wk in control medium, secretory rates approached the pre-Fz treatment levels. In plated cells, secretion of GH was reduced by Fz in a dose-dependent manner, whereas PRL secretion was significantly reduced only by the highest concentration (2.5 micrograms/ml) of Fz. We concluded that Fz is not an acceptable medium constituent for the long-term culture of GH3 cells. However, because its effects are reversible, its short-term use as a decontaminating agent might eliminate the necessity for reinitiating the culture of cells whose secretory behavior must be followed in long-term protocols.

Amphotericin B↗

Anionic basis of fluid secretion by rat pancreatic acini in vitro.

Acinar secretion was studied in the caerulein-stimulated perfused rat pancreas. Unstimulated glands secreted at a mean basal rate of 1.1 microliters X g-1 X min-1 (SD = 0.74), which was not altered by perfusate anion substitution or by transport-blocking drugs. Caerulein evoked a maximum response (6.8 microliter X g-1 X min-1, SE = 0.36, n = 8) at a concentration of 18 pmol/l. Replacement of perfusate bicarbonate with either chloride or acetate did not significantly alter the stimulated secretory rate. In contrast, replacement with acetate of either chloride alone or chloride and bicarbonate reduced the rate of stimulated secretion by 75-80%, and replacement with isethionate abolished the response altogether. In glands perfused with solutions containing chloride but not bicarbonate, furosemide (10(-5) M), 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (SITS, 10(-4) M), amiloride (10(-4) M), and methazolamide (10(-4) M) all reduced the secretory response by more than 70%. When bicarbonate was included in the perfusate, the inhibitory effects for the same doses of blockers were much less, and except for methazolamide the same level of maximum inhibition was obtained when the blocker doses were increased 10-fold. The results suggest that rat pancreatic acini utilize a different secretory mechanism from the sodium chloride-carrying symport postulated to be most important in rat mandibular glands. The simplest model to explain our results would involve paired, basolateral antiports for Na-H and Cl-HCO3 exchange. We cannot exclude the presence of a Na-Cl symport, but if present, its role appears to be minor.

Acetates↗

Basal, pulsatile, entropic, and 24-hour rhythmic features of secondary hyperprolactinemia due to functional pituitary stalk disconnection mimic tumoral (primary) hyperprolactinemia.

Under physiological conditions, PRL secretion is regulated precisely by various stimulating and inhibiting factors. Hyperprolactinemia may arise as a primary consequence of a PRL-secreting pituitary adenoma. Secondary hyperprolactinemia (SH) may emerge in patients with hypothalamic disease, hypophyseal stalk compression, or suprasellar extension of a (nonlactotrope) pituitary adenoma. The latter may reflect diminished delivery of dopamine or other inhibitory factors to normal lactotropes. We hypothesized that diurnal and ultradian rhythms of PRL secretion would differ in secondary (e.g. hypothalamic) and primary (e.g. tumoral states) hyperprolactinemia (PH), assuming that the underlying pathophysiologies differ. To test this clinical postulate, we investigated the patterns of 24-h PRL release in eight patients with SH associated with functional hypothalamo-pituitary disconnection and in eight patients with PH attributable to microprolactinoma. Data in each group were compared with values in healthy gender-matched controls. PRL time series were obtained by repetitive 10-min blood sampling, followed by high- precision immunofluorometric assay. PRL concentration profiles were analyzed by the complementary tools of model-free discrete peak detection, waveform-independent deconvolution analysis, cosinor regression, and the approximate entropy metric to quantitate pulsatile, basal, 24-h rhythmic, and pattern-dependent (entropic) PRL secretion. Patients with tumoral hyperprolactinemia (PH) showed a 2-fold higher 24-h mean serum PRL concentration than patients with SH (62 +/- 13 microg /L vs. 30 +/- 6.9 microg/L, respectively, P = 0.029). Estimated PRL pulse frequency (events/24 h) was similar in the two patient groups (18.5 +/- 0.7 vs. 17.6 +/- 0.8; P = 0.395) but elevated over that in euprolactinemic controls (P < 0.0001 for both). Deconvolution analysis disclosed a mean daily PRL secretion rate of 790 +/- 170 microg in PH patients vs. 380 +/- 85 microg in SH patients (P = 0.030). Nonpulsatile PRL secretion comprised nearly 70% of total secretion in both patient groups and 50% in controls (P < 0.0001). Cosinor analysis revealed similar acrophases in all three study cohorts. The mean skewness of the statistical distribution of the individual PRL sample secretory rates was reduced, compared with controls (P < 10 (-5) for each), but equivalent in SH and PH patients (0.83 +/- 0.12 vs. 0.78 +/- 0.08, respectively), denoting a loss of the normal spectrum of low- and higher-amplitude secretion rates. Approximate entropy, a regularity statistic, was markedly elevated in both patient groups over controls (P < 10 (-6) for each) and was slightly higher in PH patients than in SH patients (1.639 +/- 0.029 vs. 1.482 +/- 0.067, P = 0.048). In summary, patterns of PRL secretion in PH and SH states exhibit an equivalently increased frequency of PRL pulses, a comparably marked rise in nonpulsatile (basal) PRL secretion. Despite overlap, the regularity of PRL release patterns is disrupted even more profoundly in PH (tumoral), compared with SH. Assuming that the orderliness of serial PRL output monitors normal integration within a feedback-controlled neurohormone axis, then the more disorderly patterns of tumoral PRL secretion point to greater regulatory disruption in PH. The latter may reflect abnormal secretory behavior associated with lactotrope neoplastic transformation and/or isolation of the tumor cell mass from normal hypothalamic controls.

Adult↗

The effect of diet on hepatic bile formation and bile acid metabolism in squirrel monkeys with and without cholesterol gallstones.

In order to explain why squirrel monkeys on some experimental diets develop cholesterol gallstones, we made a number of measurements on bile acid kinetics and on bile secretion and composition. The pool size of cholic acid was much greater in monkeys on a commercial diet than in any group on a semipurified diet. It was also greater in squirrel monkeys on a lithogenic diet but without gallstones than in monkeys from the same diet group with gallstones. The half-lives of cholic acid tended to be proportional to pool size, and absolute rates of cholic acid synthesis were, therefore, not much affected by diet. Diet did not affect the pool sizes and half-lives of chenodeoxycholic acid as much as those of cholic acid. Dietary cholesterol increased concentrations of cholesterol relative to bile acids and phospholipids in hepatic bile as well as absolute secretory rates of all three components. Interruption of the enterohepatic circulation of bile in fasted monkeys with gallstones resulted in a more rapid and marked increase in the relative cholesterol concentration and decline in the absolute concentration of bile acids in hepatic bile than occurred for monkeys without gallstones. This was due to the low proportion of the bile acid pool outside the gallbladder and the low rate of new bile acid synthesis of the monkeys with gallstones during fasting.

Animals↗

Changes in responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis to 2-deoxy-D-glucose in developing rats.

During the first 2-3 weeks of postnatal life, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in rats exists in a relatively dormant state, termed the stress-hyporesponsive period. The development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in young rats was examined by testing the ability of the nonmetabolizable glucose analog 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) to stimulate CRF in vitro and ACTH in vivo. Intraperitoneal injection of 2-DG into rats 11-12 days of age or into adult rats resulted in significant hyperglycemia by 60 min that was greater in magnitude in the adults. This response was accompanied by a significant increase in plasma ACTH to levels more than 500% of the noninjected or saline-injected control values in adults. A much smaller (approximately 200%) but still significant ACTH response was observed 60 min after 2-DG injection in the neonates. The drug had no effect on the ACTH response to exogenous CRF in the neonates. The pattern of corticosterone secretion paralleled that of ACTH, with a very moderate rise (from less than 1 to 2 micrograms/dl) seen in the neonate. To test the hypothesis that CRF was driving the ACTH response to glucoprivation induced by 2-DG in the neonate and to determine the ontogeny of hypothalamic responsiveness to this stressor, complete hypothalami were existed from rats 10-35 days of age and incubated in a defined buffer containing 5.5 mM glucose with or without 22 mM 2-DG. There was no effect of the analog on CRF secretion until day 35, at which time the magnitude of the response resembled that previously reported to occur in adult tissue. To determine if the failure to observe a CRF response was due to heightened sensitivity to the negative feedback effects of glucocorticoids, 8- to 10-day-old pups were adrenalectomized and returned to their mothers for 3 days, at which time the hypothalami were removed and tested for CRF secretion. No difference was observed between basal CRF secretory rates in the control or adrenalectomized groups, and there was still no significant response to 2-DG. Moreover, adrenalectomy did not potentiate the ACTH response to injection of 2-DG in vivo. The results suggest that during neonatal life in the rat, the hypothalamic glucostat/CRF cell mechanism is incapable of promoting a normal secretory response to glucoprivation. This deficit is probably not related to the increased sensitivity to negative feedback that has been proposed to account in part for the attenuated ACTH responses to stress in the neonatal animal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adrenal Cortex↗

Studies on the control and dynamics of thyrotropin secretion from isolated adenohypophyseal cells.

Thyrotropin (TSH) secretion from isolated anterior pituitary cells has been studied using the technique of cell column perifusion. The consistency in secretory rate and temporal profiles of TSH output in response to stimulation illustrated that the system is suitable for studying the kinetics of stimulation and inhibition of secretion. During perfusion TSH release was stimulated in response to a variety of secretogogues, namely TRH, raised potassium concentrations and phosphodiesterase inhibitors. The onset and termination of the secretory responses were rapid and displayed a temporally biphasic pattern of secretion. Dose-related increases in TSH output in response to TRH and consistent responses to repetitive pulses of TRH (5.5 X 10-10 M) during a 4 h period were demonstrated. Studies on the dynamics of thyroid hormone feedback on TRH-stimulated TSH secretion indicated that inhibition was manifest within 1 h and reached a maximum after 2 1/2 h during continual exposure to thyroid hormones. Isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) potentiated the effect of raised K+ as well as that of TRH on TSH secretion, suggesting an as yet unidentified relationship between Ca2+ and cyclic AMP.

Animals↗

Bromocriptine inhibits pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA and ACTH precursor secretion in small cell lung cancer cell lines.

We have previously reported that a human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell line (COR L103) that expresses the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene and secretes ACTH precursor peptides is relatively resistant to glucocorticoid regulation. Using this model, we have now examined alternative regulatory mechanisms of the POMC gene and found that both the mRNA and ACTH precursor peptides were stimulated four- and two-fold, respectively, after 48 h incubation with db-cAMP. Next, we examined the dopamine agonist, bromocriptine, which acts predominantly through D2 receptors linked to adenyl cyclase to cause a reduction in intracellular cAMP. Bromocriptine suppressed cAMP levels and inhibited precursor peptide secretion within 24 h in a dose-dependent manner (0.15-15 microM). At the highest dose, peptide secretion was inhibited from 95 to 53 pmol/mg protein, and POMC mRNA was reduced by 50%, while beta-actin mRNA remained unchanged. This effect could not be mimicked by incubation of cells with the alpha-adrenergic antagonist, phenoxybenzamine, suggesting that the alpha-adrenergic effects of bromocriptine were not responsible for this observation. These cells also secrete estradiol, but the secretory rate was unaffected by bromocriptine, suggesting, with the beta-actin data, that the POMC inhibition was not a cytotoxic effect. No recovery in precursor peptide secretion was seen in a 48-h period after the removal of bromocriptine. However, when the postchallenge incubation was extended to 8 d, there was a recovery in secretory potential between day 3 and day 8 and normal growth kinetics in the 4 d after removal of the drug. In contrast to these findings, the mouse corticotroph cell line, AtT20, showed no response to bromocriptine, in keeping with reports that this agonist has no effect on anterior lobe corticotrophs. We conclude that bromocriptine effectively inhibits POMC expression in SCLC cells, and that this phenomenon might be of useful clinical application.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

Mechanisms of caeruloplasmin biosynthesis in normal and copper-deficient rats.

To examine the mechanisms of holo-caeruloplasmin biosynthesis, we measured the serum caeruloplasmin concentration and oxidase activity, hepatic caeruloplasmin mRNA content and hepatocyte caeruloplasmin biosynthesis and secretion in normal and copper-deficient rats. Copper deficiency resulted in a near-complete loss of serum caeruloplasmin oxidase activity, yet only a 60% reduction in serum caeruloplasmin concentration and no change in the abundance of hepatic caeruloplasmin mRNA or the rate of caeruloplasmin biosynthesis. Both interleukin-1 alpha and lipopolysaccharide increased hepatic caeruloplasmin mRNA content and caeruloplasmin biosynthesis in normal and copper-deficient animals, but neither mediator increased caeruloplasmin oxidase activity in the copper-deficient group. Pulse-chase studies in primary hepatocytes from normal and copper-deficient rats revealed that the secretory rates for newly synthesized caeruloplasmin were identical, despite little or no holo-caeruloplasmin synthesis in hepatocytes of copper-deficient rats. We conclude that hepatocyte copper content has no effect on hepatic caeruloplasmin-gene expression or caeruloplasmin biosynthesis and that the incorporation of copper into newly synthesized caeruloplasmin is not a rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis or secretion of the apoprotein from rat hepatocytes.

Animals↗

Regulation of prostatic acid phosphatase expression and secretion by androgen in LNCaP human prostate carcinoma cells.

The expression and the secretion of human prostatic acid phosphatase (PAcP), a differentiation antigen which is the major acid phosphatase in prostate epithelial cells, are thought to be regulated by an androgen. We investigated this regulatory mechanism at the post-transcriptional level in LNCaP human prostate carcinoma cells using a cDNA clone for the secretory form of PAcP. 5 alpha-Dihydrotestosterone (DHT, an active form of endogenous androgen) stimulated the secretion of PAcP from cells grown in a steroid-reduced medium and in a defined serum-free medium, respectively. The secreted PAcP activity was increased following a DHT dose in a dose-dependent fashion at concentrations of up to 1 microM. Further, the stimulation of PAcP secretion occurred following the period of exposure to DHT. During a 5-day treatment period, with 10 nM of DHT in the steroid-reduced medium, the secretion of PAcP was stimulated approximately 150% over that from control cells. Nevertheless, PAcP was secreted from cells grown in the absence of added DHT. First, the androgen dependency of PAcP expression was examined. The expression and the secretion of PAcP were observed in cells that were grown in a defined serum-free medium and grown in a steroid-reduced medium, in the absence of DHT. The increased secretion by DHT was further demonstrated to be in part due to an increase in PAcP mRNA level, as evidenced by Northern blot analysis. PAcP mRNA levels were elevated approximately 2-fold and corresponded to an increase of approximately 2.5-fold in the secreted level of newly synthesized 35S-PAcP. Then, the effect of DHT on the secretory process was investigated. Results of pulse-chase labeling experiments indicated that the secretory rate of PAcP was stimulated by about 50% on average by DHT. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that, in LNCaP cells, the expression and the secretion of PAcP regulated by androgen are apparently hormone-responsive processes. Further, DHT stimulation of PAcP secretion operates within at least two levels: increased PAcP mRNA and stimulation of the secretory pathway.

Acid Phosphatase↗