| Abstract: | Chemically synthesized oligomers (dimers, trimers and tetramers) of 15-dehydroprostaglandin B1 and 16,16'dimethyl-15-dehydroprostaglandin B1 (16,16'diMePGB1) are effective Ca2+ ionophores with isolated mitochondria and in artificial systems. The trimer of 16, 16'diMePGB1 mediated a dose dependent Ca2+ efflux from intact rat hepatocytes; at 9.2 microM oligomer, Ca2+ was released primarily from the mitochondrial pool but at higher concentrations from other cellular pools. The 16, 16'diMePGB1 trimer did not alter Ca2+ release mediated by epinephrine suggesting that the PGB1 oligomer interacts at a different site. The oligomer also caused an activation of phosphorylase similar to that mediated by epinephrine. |
