Thyrotropin effect on the availability of Ni regulatory protein in FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells to ADP-ribosylation by pertussis toxin

Incubation of FRTL-5 rat thyroid cell membranes with [32P]NAD and pertussis toxin results in the specific ADP-ribosylation of a protein of about 40 kDa. This protein has the same molecular mass of the alpha i subunit of the adenylate cyclase regulatory protein Ni and is distinct from proteins ADP-ribosylated by cholera toxin in the same membranes. Prior treatment of FRTL-5 cells with pertussis toxin results in the ADP-ribosylation of Ni, as indicated by the loss of the toxin substrate in the ADP-ribosylation assay performed with membranes prepared from such cells. Preincubation of FRTL-5 cells with thyrotropin causes the same loss; cholera toxin has no such effect. Pertussis toxin, as do thyrotropin and cholera toxin, increases cAMP levels in FRTL-5 cells. Forskolin together with thyrotropin, cholera toxin or pertussis toxin causes a further increase in cAMP levels. Pertussis toxin and thyrotropin are not additive in their ability to increase adenylate cyclase activity, whereas both substances are additive with cholera toxin. A role of Ni in the thyrotropin regulation of the adenylate cyclase activity in thyroid cells is proposed.     

GTP-binding proteins and adenylate cyclase activity in v-Ki-ras transformed NIH/3T3 fibroblast cells

To identify the role of ras oncogene and p21 in the coupling mechanism of GTP-binding proteins to adenylate cyclase, we used v-Ki-ras transformed NIH/3T3 fibroblast cells. In the previous study, we investigated that NaF, cholera toxin and forskolin remarkably enhanced the adenylate cyclase activity in transformed cells compared to normal NIH/3T3 cells. In the present study, adenylate cyclase was more enhanced by GTP gamma S in transformed cells than in normal cells. It was considered that p21 plays enhancing role in coupling of GTP-binding proteins to adenylate cyclase. Further, as measured by the degree of [32P] ADP-ribosylation of GTP-binding proteins by cholera toxin and pertussis toxin respectively, the amount of Gs (46 kDa) was almost equal in both cells, while the amount of Gi (41 kDa) in transformant was about one third of that in normal cells. This difference seems to be reflected in either the biological situations or the quantities of Gi. Our data suggest that v-Ki-ras transformation resulted in the decrease of Gi protein so that the inhibitory regulation on adenylate cyclase relatively becomes low and then stimulatory influence of Gs seems to be enhanced.     

Pertussis toxin prevents homologous desensitization of adenylate cyclase in cultured renal epithelial cells

The biochemical mechanisms of adenylate cyclase desensitization in arginine vasopressin-responsive epithelial cells remain unclear. Preincubation of cultured rabbit renal cortical collecting tubular cells with arginine vasopressin leads to a 30-100% decline in arginine vasopressin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. This loss of adenylate cyclase activity is time- and arginine vasopressin concentration-dependent. Preincubation with arginine vasopressin does not result in significant changes in basal, NaF-, forskolin-, isoproterenol- or cholera toxin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. Preincubation of cells with chlorophenylthio-cAMP, forskolin, and cholera toxin does not result in loss of arginine vasopressin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. Since products of cyclo-oxygenase inhibit arginine vasopressin action, cells were preincubated with indomethacin. Arginine vasopressin-induced adenylate cyclase desensitization is not reversed by indomethacin. By contrast, incubation with pertussis toxin prevents arginine vasopressin-induced adenylate cycle desensitization. These data demonstrate that arginine vasopressin induces homologous desensitization in membranes from cultured rabbit cortical collecting tubular cells and suggest that this desensitization is mediated, at least in part, by pertussis toxin substrate. These observations provide a unifying mechanism for desensitization of adenylate cyclase-coupled hormone receptors.     

Modulation of adenylate cyclase in human keratinocytes by protein kinase C

Adenylate cyclase (ATP-pyrophosphate lyase (cyclizing); EC 4.6.1.1) in the human keratinocyte cell line SCC 12F was potentiated by 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), phorbol-12,13-diacetate, and 1,2-dioctanoylglycerol. Keratinocytes exposed to TPA showed a 2-fold enhancement of adenylate cyclase activity when assayed in the presence of isoproterenol or GTP. The half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) for both isoproterenol and GTP were unaltered by TPA treatment of the cells. Basal adenylate cyclase activity in membranes from TPA-treated cultures was also increased 2-fold relative to activity in control membranes. Potentiation of adenylate cyclase activity was dependent on the concentration of TPA to which the keratinocytes were exposed (EC50 for TPA = 3 nM). TPA actions on adenylate cyclase were maximal after 15 min of incubation of the cells with the compound, correlating well with the time course of translocation of protein kinase C (Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent enzyme) from cytosol to membrane. The action of cholera toxin on adenylate cyclase was additive with TPA. In contrast, pertussis toxin actions on adenylate cyclase were not additive with TPA. Treatment of control cells with pertussis toxin activated adenylate cyclase 1.5-fold, whereas cells exposed to pertussis toxin for 6 h followed by TPA for 15 min showed the same 2-fold increase in adenylate cyclase activity as observed in membranes from cells exposed to TPA without prior exposure to pertussis toxin. Pertussis toxin catalyzed ADP-ribosylation was increased 2-fold in membranes from SCC 12F cells exposed to TPA, indicating an increase in the alpha beta gamma form of Gi. These data suggest that exposure of human keratinocytes to phorbol esters increases adenylate cyclase activity by a protein kinase C-mediated increase in the heterotrimeric alpha beta gamma form of Gi resulting in decreased inhibition of basal adenylate cyclase activity.     

Alteration by v-Ki-ras in NaF, cholera toxin and forskolin-induced adenylate cyclase activation in NIH/3T3 fibroblast cells

It has been suggested that ras proteins are involved in the transmembrane signaling mechanism and they share structural features with GTP-binding proteins. To identify the role of ras oncogene and it's products in the coupling mechanisms of GTP-binding proteins to adenylate cyclase, we examined effect of NaF, cholera toxin and forskolin in normal and v-Ki-ras transformed NIH/3T3 fibroblast cells. In transformants, adenylate cyclase activity was markedly enhanced by NaF and cholera toxin, in contrast to normal cells. It is suggested that ras oncogene proteins plays enhancing role in coupling of GTP-binding proteins to adenylate cyclase.     

Biphasic regulation of adenylate cyclase by cholera toxin in neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells is due to the activation and subsequent loss of the alpha subunit of the stimulatory GTP binding protein (GS)

Exposure of neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid (NG108-15) cells to low concentrations of cholera toxin produced a stimulation of both basal and forskolin-amplified adenylate cyclase activity in membranes prepared from these cells. Higher concentrations of cholera-toxin reversed this effect. Mn2+ activation of adenylate cyclase indicated that this effect was not due to a modification of the intrinsic activity of this enzyme. Cholera toxin was demonstrated to produce a concentration and time-dependent loss of GS alpha from membranes of these cells. Loss of GS alpha from membranes of these cells was preceded by its ADP-ribosylation. The effects of cholera toxin were specific for GS alpha, as no alterations in levels of the pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins Gi2, Gi3 and Go, were noted in parallel. Equally, no alteration in levels of G-protein beta-subunit were produced by the cholera toxin treatment. These experiments demonstrate that cholera toxin-catalysed ADP-ribosylation does not simply maintain an activated population of GS at the plasma membrane and that alterations in levels of GS at the plasma membrane can modify adenylate cyclase activity.     

Alterations of cAMP metabolism and hormone responsiveness of cloned differentiated rat liver cells (RL-PR-C) upon spontaneous transformation

In normal Rat Liver Primary Culture (RL-PR-C) liver cells, cAMP was low prior to confluency, then rose continuously as cells became contact inhibited. In contrast, spontaneously transformed RL-PR-C cells did not become contact inhibited, and cAMP decreased steadily with increasing cell density. Normal cells released large amounts of cAMP into the extracellular fluid at all densities, while transformed cells did not do so at any density. Neither exogenous db-cAMP nor phosphodiesterase inhibitors reversed the uncontrolled growth of transformed cells, nor did conditioned media from contact-inhibited normal cells.While both normal and transformed RL-PR-C hepatocytes produced large amounts of cAMP in response to epinephrine and cholera toxin, transformed cells were much more sensitive to these agents; however, only normal cells responded to glucagon. Although the plasma membrane adenylate cyclase of transformed hepatocytes responded better than did that of normal cells to epinephrine, cholera toxin and fluoride, the basal cyclase activity of transformed cells was only about half that of normal cells. The adenylate cyclase of transformed cells did not respond to glucagon, although the number of glucagon receptors of such cells far exceeded that of normal cells. The V_max of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase of normal hepatocytes was five times that of transformed cells, although the K_m was unchanged.The data indicate that spontaneous transformation of diploid differentiated RL-PR-C hepatocytes leads to cultural hormone receptor and cAMP changes similar to those seen in undifferentiated fibroblasts and other cells transformed by viruses and chemical carcinogens. Although there are significant changes in various parameters of cAMP metabolism upon transformation, decreased cAMP per se does not seem to be responsible for transformation. Furthermore, it is possible that following transformation, these hepatocytes lose some factor necessary for coupling of the glucagon receptor to adenylate cyclase.     

Endothelins inhibit adenylate cyclase in brain capillary endothelial cells.

The action of endothelins (Et) on cAMP formation was studied in endothelial cells from rat brain microvessels. Et-1 and Et-3 had no action by themselves. They both inhibited cholera toxin stimulated adenylate cyclase by about 50%. K0.5 values were observed at 2 nM and 40 nM for Et-1 and Et-3 respectively, indicating an involvement of a low affinity Et-3 receptor. Coupling to adenylate cyclase was achieved by a pertussis toxin sensitive mechanism. Another action of endothelins in brain capillary endothelial cells was to stimulate phospholipase C. This action involved a low affinity Et-3 receptor and a pertussis toxin insensitive mechanism. It is concluded that in brain capillary endothelial cells, ETA like receptors are coupled to phospholipase C and to adenylate cyclase via two different mechanisms.     

Bacterial adenylate cyclase increases cyclic AMP and hormone release in pituitary tumor cells

Calmodulin-activated, adenylate cyclase toxin, a virulence factor produced by the human respiratory pathogen Bordetella pertussis, elicits marked accumulation of cyclic AMP in cell lines from rat pituitary tumors. This effect is associated with and apparently responsible for an enhanced release of prolactin and/or growth hormone from GH3, GH4C1 and 235-1 cells. The utility of this novel toxin in probing cyclic AMP-mediated responses is supported by these observations and studies with pertussis and cholera toxins.     

The hysteretic effect of Gpp(NH)p on adenylate cyclase is not altered by Mg2+ in adipocyte membranes of ob/ob mice

We have established previously that the regulation of adenylate cyclase is abnormal in adipose tissue membranes of ob/ob mice. To help establish the nature of the defect, we studied the time course of guanine nucleotide activation and inhibition of adenylate cyclase. The activation of adenylate cyclase by Gpp(NH)p in adipocyte membranes of normal (+/+) and ob/ob mice proceeds with a lag phase. In +/+ membranes, this lag could be shortened by increasing the concentration of Mg2+ in the incubation medium or by pretreatment of the membranes with cholera toxin, and it could be abolished by isoproterenol in combination with 4 mM MgCl2. In contrast, in the ob/ob membranes, only pretreatment with cholera toxin was effective in shortening the lag phase. These results indicate an impediment in the activation of adenylate cyclase in ob/ob membranes. In the +/+ membranes, Gpp(NH)p inhibited foreskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase, following a short lag phase, producing lower steady-state velocities than those seen with forskolin alone. The inhibitory effect of Gpp(NH)p on forskolin-stimulated activity was abolished by pertussis but not by cholera toxin treatment. In the ob/ob membranes, neither Gpp(NH)p nor pertussis treatment had any effect on the steady-state velocity of the forskolin-stimulated activity. These data have been interpreted as meaning that an anomaly in Ni rather than in Ns is likely to be responsible for the impairment of adenylate cyclase activity in the membranes of the ob/ob mouse.     

Somatostatin acts through G-proteins on dopaminergic adenylate cyclase in the caudate-putamen of the rat

Somatostatin was incubated in an adenylate cyclase assay of a particulate fraction of caudateputamen tissue of the rat in order to examine the effect of the peptide on D-1 receptor coupled adenylate cyclase in vitro. Somatostatin was able to enhance cyclic AMP formation in the presence of guanylylimidodiphosphate and guanosine-triphosphate. In contrast to this, somatostatin inhibited both dopamine and forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation. Pertussis toxin and cholera toxin also depressed forskolin-induced stimulation. Somatostatin was found to antagonize these inhibitory effects of pertussis toxin and cholera toxin. The results suggest that somatostatin acts through a stimulatory as well as an inhibitory guanine nucleotide regulatory protein subtype to affect dopaminergic adenylate cyclase activity.     

Evidence that thyrotropin-releasing hormone-induced increases in GTPase activity and phosphoinositide metabolism in GH3 cells are mediated by a guanine nucleotide-binding protein other than Gs or Gi

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and acetylcholine stimulated high affinity GTPase activity in GH3 cell membrane preparations. The effects of acetylcholine and VIP were blocked by pretreatment of cultured cells with pertussis toxin and cholera toxin respectively. Such pretreatment, which causes covalent modification of the guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) of adenylate cyclase, did not, however, block the effects of TRH on GTPase activity or phosphoinositide breakdown. These data suggest that TRH receptors interact with a G-protein discrete from those associated with regulation of adenylate cyclase activity.     

ADP-ribosylation of membrane proteins and activation of adenylate cyclase by cholera toxin in fat cell ghosts from euthyroid and hypothyroid rats.

Incubation of fat cell ghosts with activated cholera toxin, nucleoside triphosphate, cytosol, and NAD results in increased adenylate cyclase activity and the transfer of ADP-ribose to membrane proteins. The major ADP-ribose protein comigrates on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels with the putative GTP-binding protein of pigeon erythrocyte membranes (Mr 42 000), which is also ADP-ribosylated by cholera toxin. The treatment with cholera toxin enhances the stimulation of the fat cell membrane adenylate cyclase by GTP, but the stimulation by guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate is unaltered. Subsequent stimulation of fat cell adenylate cyclase by 10 micrometers epinephrine is not particularly affected. These changes were qualititatively the same for membranes isolated from fat cells of hypothyroid rats. Although the cyclase of these membranes has a reduced response to epinephrine, guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate or GTP, as compared to euthyroid rat fat cell membranes, the defect is not rectified by toxin treatment and cannot be explained by a deficiency in the cholera toxin target.     

Actions of cyclic adenosine monophosphate on the cytodifferentiation of ovarian cells: studies in cultured swine granulosa cells using a novel exogenous adenylate cyclase from Bordetella pertussis

The regulation by cAMP of cholesterol side-chain cleavage activity and the synthesis of immunoisolated cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin proteins was investigated in primary cultures of swine ovarian (granulosa) cells. Administration of a novel adenylate cyclase toxin isolated from Bordetella pertussis increased granulosa-cell cAMP accumulation up to 200-fold over basal. These effects were additive with those of FSH, forskolin, and cholera toxin. In contrast, bacterial extracts BP 347 and BP 348 from mutant strains of B. pertussis that lack either all virulent factors or the adenylate cyclase toxin and hemolysin were devoid of effect. Granulosa-cell cAMP accumulation supported by active bacterial adenylate cyclase was accompanied by 2- to 11-fold, time-dependent increases in [35S]methionine incorporation into immunospecific cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin. These increases in the synthesis of cholesterol side-chain cleavage proteins were associated with enhanced pregnenolone production in response to exogenous sterol substrate, 25-hydroxycholesterol, and augmented progesterone secretion both in the absence and presence of exogenous lipoprotein. Moreover, the effects of Bordetella adenylate cyclase toxin on granulosa cell steroidogenesis were functionally integrated with other regulatory responses, since the non-cAMP dependent effector, estradiol 17-beta, interacted synergistically with bacterial adenylate cyclase in stimulating progesterone production. We conclude that exogenous adenylate cyclase isolated from B. pertussis can be functionally integrated into the cAMP-dependent effector pathway of granulosa cells with a resulting increase in intracellular cAMP concentrations, augmented biosynthesis of progesterone and pregnenolone, enhanced synthesis of immunospecific cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin, and synergistic interactions with a non-cAMP-dependent ovarian effector hormone (estradiol).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Pertussis toxin B-subunit-induced Ca2(+)-fluxes in Jurkat human lymphoma cells: the action of long-term pre-treatment with cholera and pertussis holotoxins

The exotoxins of Bordetella pertussis and Vibrio cholera have been used to investigate signal transduction in the human T-cell lymphoma Jurkat. Stimulation of the cells, leading to an increase in cytoplasmic free calcium, could be achieved by the anti-T-cell receptor complex antibody OKT3 and by pertussis holotoxin (PTHT), or its B-subunit (PTB), but not by cholera holotoxin (CTHT) or its B-subunit (CTB). Both holotoxins ADP-ribosylated specifically G-proteins in the plasma membrane of intact cells, while their B-subunits had no ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. Incubation of the cells with CTHT led to a state of unresponsiveness to all stimulants. CTB was without any effect, indicating that the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of cholera toxin (located in the A-subunit of the holotoxin) was necessary for the inhibition of cellular signalling. The inhibitory effect of cholera toxin on the pertussis toxin action was not due to a blockade of pertussis toxin interaction with the cell surface, because pertussis toxin was still able to ADP-ribosylate membrane proteins in cholera toxin treated intact cells. In addition, the cholera toxin mediated inhibition was not due to elevated levels of cyclic-AMP, as forskolin (a direct activator of the adenylate cyclase) and no inhibitory effect. The stimulating effect of PTHT was independent of its ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, because it could also be obtained by the B-subunit alone. In addition, the increase of cytoplasmic free calcium after stimulation by PTHT clearly preceded the ADP-ribosylation. Pre-treatment with PTHT, PTB or OKT3, led to a long lasting increase in the level of intracellular Ca2+ in Jurkat cells, which could not, therefore, be stimulated further. Inhibition by cholera holotoxin of the stimulation by OKT3 and pertussis toxin (PTHT and PTB) imply that the mitogenic effect of pertussis toxin is perhaps mediated via the T-cell antigen receptor signalling cascade. The presented data do not support the idea that a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein is involved in coupling the T-cell antigen receptor to the phospholipase C.     

In Vivo Evidence that Lithium Inactivates Gi Modulation of Adenylate Cyclase in Brain

In vivo microdialysis of cyclic AMP from prefrontal cortex complemented by ex vivo measures was used to investigate the possibility that lithium produces functional changes in G proteins that could account for its effects on adenylate cyclase activity. Four weeks of lithium administration (serum lithium concentration of 0.85 +/- 0.05 mM; n = 11) significantly increased the basal cyclic AMP content in dialysate from prefrontal cortex of anesthetized rats. Forskolin infused through the probe increased dialysate cyclic AMP, but the magnitude of this increase was unaffected by chronic lithium administration. Inactivation of the inhibitory guanine nucleotide binding protein Gi with pertussis toxin increased dialysate cyclic AMP in control rats, as did stimulation with cholera toxin (which activates the stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding protein Gs). The effect of pertussis toxin was abolished following chronic lithium, whereas the increase in cyclic AMP after cholera toxin was enhanced. In vitro pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation of alpha i (and alpha o) was increased by 20% in prefrontal cortex from lithium-treated rats, but the alpha i and alpha s contents (as determined by immunoblot) as well as the cholera toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation of alpha s were unchanged. Taken together, these results suggest that chronic lithium administration may interfere with the dissociation of Gi into its active components and thereby remove a tonic inhibitory influence on adenylate cyclase, with resultant enhanced basal and cholera toxin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity.     

Genetic evidence that cholera toxin substrates are regulatory components of adenylate cyclase.

Cholera toxin, using [32P]NAD+ as substrate, specifically radiolabels at least two proteins in plasma membranes of wild type S49 mouse lymphoma cells. The toxin-specific substrates are detectable by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as bands corresponding to molecular weights of 45,000 and a doublet of 52,000 to 53,000. Membranes of two other cell types exhibit similar patterns of radiolabeled bands specifically produced by incubation with cholera toxin: the "uncoupled" variant S49 cell, which possesses adenylate cyclase activity unresponsive to hormones, and the HTC4 rat hepatoma cell, which lacks detectable catalytic adenylate cyclase activity but contains components of the cyclase system necessary for regulation by guanyl nucleotides and NaF. Little or no toxin-specific radiolabeling is observed in membranes of a fourth cell type, the adenylate cyclase activity-deficient S49 variant, which functionally lacks components of the cyclase system involved in cholera toxin action and regulation by guanyl nucleotides and NaF. The toxin-specific labeling pattern is not observed in membranes prepared from wild type S49 cells previously treated with cholera toxin in culture. One or both of the toxin substrates thus appears to be involved in regulation of adenylate cyclase by guanyl nucleotides and fluoride ion.     

Guanine nucleotide activation and inhibition of adenylate cyclase as modified by islet-activating protein, pertussis toxin, in mouse 3T3 fibroblasts

Guanine nucleotide regulation of membrane adenylate cyclase activity was uniquely modified after exposure of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts to low concentrations of islet-activating protein (IAP), pertussis toxin. The action of IAP, which occurred after a lag time, was durable and irreversible, and was associated with ADP-ribosylation of a membrane Mr = 41,000 protein. GTP, but not Gpp(NH)p, was more efficient and persistent in activating adenylate cyclase in membranes from IAP-treated cells than membranes from control cells. GTP and Gpp(NH)p caused marked inhibition of adenylate cyclase when the enzyme system was converted to its highly activated state by cholera toxin treatment or fluoride addition, presumably as a result of their interaction with the specific binding protein which is responsible for inhibition of adenylate cyclase. This inhibition was totally abolished by IAP treatment of cells, making it very likely that IAP preferentially modulates GTP inhibitory responses, thereby increasing GTP-dependent activation and negating GTP-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase.     

Modulation by islet-activating protein of adenylate cyclase activity in C6 glioma cells

The cAMP content of intact cells as well as adenylate cyclase of the membrane-rich particulate fractions was studied with C6 glioma cells that had been exposed to the culture medium supplemented with islet-activating protein (IAP), one of the pertussis toxins. Both the increase in the cellular cAMP content in response to a beta-adrenergic agonist and the stimulation of membrane adenylate cyclase by the beta-agonist and/or GTP were markedly enhanced by the IAP treatment of C6 cells, but no change was induced in affinities of the agonist (or an antagonist) or GTP for their respective sites of action (or binding). The concentration of IAP required for the half-maximal enhancement was as low as 1 pg/ml, when the time of cell exposure to the toxin was prolonged to 18 h. No enhancement was observed for the basal cAMP content or basal enzyme activity, nor was activation of adenylate cyclase by Gpp(NH)p (or NaF) affected by IAP treatment. The Vmax value of a specific and low Km GTPase was significantly smaller in the membranes of IAP-treated cells than in those of control cells. Cholera toxin treatment of cells activated adenylate cyclase without exerting any influence on these IAP actions. Thus, IAP would appear to enhance beta-receptor-coupled stimulation of adenylate cyclase, in a manner distinct from cholera toxin, by rendering more GTP available to the GTP sites on the regulatory subunit of the receptor-enzyme system.     

Transforming growth factor beta enhances parathyroid hormone stimulation of adenylate cyclase in clonal osteoblast-like cells

The effects of transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) on parathyroid hormone (PTH)-responsive adenylate cyclase were examined in clonal rat osteosarcoma cells (UMR-106) with the osteoblast phenotype. Purified TGF beta incubated with UMR-106 cells for 48 hr produced a concentration-dependent increase in PTH stimulation of adenylate cyclase, with maximal increase in PTH response (37%) occurring at 1 ng/ml TGF beta. TGF beta also enhanced receptor-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase by isoproterenol and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nonreceptor-mediated enzyme activation by cholera toxin and forskolin. In cells in which PTH-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was augmented by treatment with pertussis toxin, the incremental increase in PTH response produced by TGF beta was reduced by 33%. However, TGF beta neither mimicked nor altered the ability of pertussis toxin to catalyze the ADP-ribosylation of a 41,000-Da protein, presumably the alpha subunit of the inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory component (Gi) of adenylate cyclase, in cholate-extracted UMR-106 cell membranes. TGF beta also had no effect on the levels of alpha or beta subunits of Gi, as assessed by immunotransfer blotting. In time course studies, brief (less than or equal to 30 min) exposure of cells to TGF beta during early culture was sufficient to increase PTH response but only after exposed cells were subsequently allowed to grow for prolonged periods. TGF beta enhancement of PTH and isoproterenol responses was blocked by prior treatment of cells with cycloheximide but not indomethacin. The results suggest that TGF beta enhances PTH response in osteoblast-like cells by action(s) exerted at nonreceptor components of adenylate cyclase. The effect of TGF beta may involve Gi, although in a manner unrelated to either pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of the alpha subunit of Gi or changes in levels of Gi subunits. The regulatory action of TGF beta on adenylate cyclase is likely to be mediated by the rapid generation of cellular signals excluding prostaglandins, followed by a prolonged sequence of events involving protein synthesis. These observations suggest a mechanism by which TGF beta may regulate osteoblast responses to systemic hormones.