Lutropin-dependent protein phosphorylation and steroidogenesis in rat tumour Leydig cells

Tumour Leydig cells have been incubated in the presence or absence of lutropin (luteinizing hormone, ;LH'). Stimulation of cells with lutropin (1000ng/ml) in the presence of 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (0.25mm) resulted in increased steroid production and increased protein phosphorylation. When pregnenolone metabolism was inhibited, basal pregnenolone production was 26.9+/-7.4ng/60min per 10(6) cells; stimulated production was 156.1+/-39.5ng/60min per 10(6) cells (means+/-s.d., n=4). Lutropin-dependent phosphorylated proteins of molecular mass 17000, 22000, 24000, 33000 and 57000Da were detected. A significant increase of [(32)P]P(i) incorporation into these phosphorylated proteins was observed concomitant with the increased pregnenolone production. The occurrence of the phosphoproteins in nuclei, mitochondria and postmitochondrial-supernatant was investigated. The 17000Da phosphoprotein was found in the nuclear fraction, whereas the 22000, 24000, 33000 and 57000Da phosphoproteins were localized in the postmitochondrial-supernatant fraction. Of the cholesterol-side-chain-cleavage activity, 80.3+/-6.1% (mean+/-s.d., n=5) was present in the mitochondrial fraction isolated from tumour Leydig cells, and this activity was 2.5-fold increased when cells had been preincubated with lutropin/1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (basal production: 194.6+/-28.6ng/30min per mg of protein; lutropinstimulated production: 498.8+/-91.5ng/30min per mg of protein; means+/-s.d., n=3). The similarities in the kinetics of the phosphorylation of proteins and the pregnenolone production after addition of lutropin/1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine indicate that the phosphoproteins could be involved in the lutropin-dependent increase in steroidogenesis in tumour Leydig cells. It remains to be demonstrated, however, to what extent the phosphoproteins outside the mitochondria can influence the cholesterol-side-chain-cleavage activity inside the mitochondria.     

Effect of lutropin and cycloheximide on lutropin receptors and cyclic AMP production in Leydig tumour cells in vitro.

A system to study lutropin-induced desensitization of tumour Leydig cells in vitro has been investigated. Tumour Leydig cells were purified on a Percoll gradient and then incubated for 30 min with lutropin (0-1000ng/ml). The cells were then washed and incubated in suspension media at 32 degrees C. 125I-labelled human choriogonadotropin binding and basal and lutropin-stimulated cyclic AMP production were determined at various times. Initially the cells showed a dose-dependent decrease in human choriogonadotropin binding (1.18 and 0.13fmol/10(6) cells respectively) followed by an increase at 1 h (2.32 and 0.87fmol/10(6) cells respectively). Human choriogonadotropin binding remained elevated in the cells pre-incubated without lutropin, whereas the cells pre-incubated with lutropin showed a dose-dependent decrease over the next 10 h (2.20-0.18fmol/10(6) cells respectively). Basal production of cyclic AMP initially reflected the pre-incubation conditions (1.17-21.19ng/10(6) cells per h for 0-1000ng of lutropin/ml respectively). However, by 1 h there was a marked rise in basal cyclic AMP production which returned to the initial lower values by 4 h. At all time intervals studied, lutropin-induced cyclic AMP production showed a decrease that was proportional to lutropin concentration in the pre-incubated media. The decreases in human choriogonadotropin binding produced by pre-incubations with lutropin (100ng/ml) was partially inhibited by the presence of cycloheximide in the pre-incubation media and totally prevented by the continuous presence of cycloheximide. These results demonstrate that desensitization of tumour Leydig cells occurs after exposure to lutropin in vitro. This desensitization involves both a loss of plasma membrane receptors for lutropin and lutropin-stimulated adenylate cyclase. These events can be prevented by cycloheximide and are therefore probably dependent on protein synthesis.     

Regulation of the synthesis of lutropin-induced protein in rat testis Leydig cells

The mechanism of action of lutropin on the stimulation of the synthesis of a specific lutropin-induced protein in rat testis Leydig cells was investigated. Lutropin-induced protein has a mol.wt. of approx. 21000 and is detected by labelling the Leydig-cell proteins with [³⁵S]methionine, followed by separation by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and radioautography of the dried gel. The incorporation of ³⁵S into lutropin-induced protein was used as an estimate for the synthesis of the protein. Incubation of Leydig cells with dibutyryl cyclic AMP or cholera toxin also resulted in the stimulation of synthesis of the protein. Synthesis of lutropin-induced protein, when maximally stimulated with 100ng of lutropin/ml, could not be stimulated further by addition of dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Addition of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, further increased synthesis of the protein in the presence of a submaximal dose of lutropin (10ng/ml) but not in the absence of lutropin or with maximal amounts of lutropin (100 and 1000ng/ml). Actinomycin D prevented the effect of lutropin on the stimulation of lutropin-induced protein synthesis when added immediately or 1h after the start of the incubation, but not when added after 5–6h. This is interpreted as reflecting that, after induction of mRNA coding for lutropin-induced protein, lutropin had no influence on the synthesis of the protein in the presence of actinomycin D. Synthesis of the protein was also stimulated in vivo by injection of choriogonadotropin into rats 1 day after hypophysectomy, and the time course of this stimulation of lutropin-induced protein synthesis in vivo was similar to that obtained by incubating Leydig cells in vitro with lutropin. From these results it is concluded that stimulation of lutropin-induced protein synthesis by lutropin is most probably mediated by cyclic AMP and involves synthesis of mRNA.     

The effect of lutropin on specific protein synthesis in tumour Leydig cells and in Leydig cells from immature rats

The amount of (35)S incorporated into the various proteins after separation by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels was used as an estimate of their synthesis in the Leydig cells. Increased synthesis of proteins with apparent mol.wts. 27000 and 29000 was observed 3h after addition of lutropin to tumour Leydig cells. Incubation of Leydig cells from immature rats with lutropin (100ng/ml) for 2h or longer resulted in increased synthesis of proteins with apparent mol.wts. 11000, 21000, 27000 and 29000. At higher concentrations (>/=100ng/ml) of lutropin there was a decrease in the synthesis of a protein with apparent mol.wt. 13000. The amount of lutropin required for the stimulation of protein synthesis in both types of Leydig cells was similar to that needed for stimulation of steroidogenesis. Lutropin-stimulated specific protein synthesis was not due to increased concentrations of testosterone, however, because (1) addition of testosterone to the cells had no effect on the synthesis of the proteins, and (2) inhibition of steroidogenesis with elipten phosphate (an inhibitor of the cholesterol side-chain-cleavage enzyme complex) did not abolish the effect of lutropin. The stimulation of specific protein synthesis was also not due to contaminating follitropin in the lutropin preparation. Addition of actinomycin D to the cells at the start of the incubation prevented the effect of lutropin on specific protein synthesis, indicating that mRNA synthesis may be needed for this effect of lutropin. Incubation of the cells with cycloheximide for 30min after labelling of the proteins did not result in a detectable decrease in the amounts of the lutropin-induced proteins, indicating that their half-life is longer than 30min.     

Desensitization of tumour Leydig cells by lutropin: evidence for uncoupling of the lutropin receptor from the guanine nucleotide-binding protein

Purified rat Leydig tumour cells were pretreated with lutropin and the effect on the subsequent response to lutropin was determined. Maximal cyclic AMP production was achieved with the same concentration of lutropin in control and lutropin-pretreated cells; however, the maximum stimulated level in pretreated cells was only 30% of controls. The sensitivity to lutropin was decreased in lutropin-pretreated cells [ED(50) (dose that produces a response that is 50% of the maximum response) 60+/-5.7ng/ml and 8+/-1.8ng/ml (mean+/-s.d., n=3) for controls], as was the rate of maximal cyclic AMP production (0.58, compared with 1.89pmol/10(6) cells per min for controls). However, cholera-toxin-stimulated cyclic AMP production was not decreased by lutropin pretreatment, and a potentiation was seen at all time points studied (up to 6h). Pre-incubation with lutropin caused a decrease in specific (125)I-labelled human choriogonadotropin binding; however, this decrease was abolished if the cells were washed under acidic conditions (pH3.0 for 2min at 4 degrees C), indicating that occupation but not loss of the lutropin receptors had taken place. The effect of pretreating the cells with lutropin on adenylate cyclase activity in purified plasma membranes was also investigated. In plasma membranes from control cells both guanosine 5'-[beta,gamma-imido]triphosphate [p(NH)ppG] plus lutropin and NaF plus lutropin caused a 50-60-fold linear increase in cyclic AMP production over 40min compared with 15-fold with p(NH)ppG and 6-fold with lutropin alone. In plasma membranes isolated from lutropin-treated cells the NaF-plus-lutropin- and the p(NH)ppG-stimulated cyclic AMP production rates were unchanged but no effect of lutropin could be demonstrated with or without added p(NH)ppG. In contrast the plasma membranes from dibutyryl cyclic AMP-treated cells had similar cyclic AMP production rates to control cells with all stimulants studied. The present evidence obtained from studies both with intact cells and with isolated plasma membranes indicates that the initial lutropin-induced desensitization of the rat Leydig tumour cell is due to a lesion in the hormone-receptor coupling to the guanine nucleotide regulatory protein. This process is apparently not mediated by cyclic AMP.     

The mechanism of action of lutropin on regulator protein(s) involved in Leydig-cell steroidogenesis

The dependence on lutropin of the synthesis of a proposed short-half-life protein regulator involved in Leydig-cell steroidogenesis was investigated. This was carried out by determining the effect of the protein-synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, added before and during incubations with lutropin (and/or dibutyryl cyclic AMP), on the rate of testosterone production in suspensions of purified Leydig cells from adult rat testes. The Leydig cells were preincubated in Eagle's medium for 2.5h followed by 30min incubation with and without cycloheximide. The inhibitor was removed by washing the cells and then lutropin was added and testosterone concentrations were determined after incubation of the cells at 32 degrees C. No significant effect of cycloheximide pretreatment on lutropin-stimulated steroidogenesis was found during 60min incubation. This was in contrast with the complete inhibiting effect of cycloheximide when it was added with the lutropin. The pretreatment experiments with cycloheximide were repeated in the presence of dibutyryl cyclic AMP and elipten phosphate (to inhibit cholesterol side-chain cleavage) followed by incubation with lutropin. After 5, 10, 20 and 60min of incubation, testosterone concentrations were 61+/-3, 46+/-3, 27+/-4 and 18+/-4% lower than in the cells pretreated without cycloheximide respectively (means+/-s.e.m., n=4-6). In the cells not pretreated with cycloheximide and in the absence of lutropin, testosterone production increased from 1.36+/-0.5 to 36.5+/-1.0ng/10(6) cells during 20min of incubation, after which no further increase occurred. Pretreatment of the cells with cycloheximide decreased these testosterone concentrations by 65, 46, 42 and 36% in the 5, 10, 20 and 60min incubations respectively (mean values, n=2-4). It is apparent from these results that inhibition of steroidogenesis only occurs if protein synthesis is inhibited in the presence of lutropin or cyclic AMP. A new hypothesis is put forward to explain these findings: it is proposed that lutropin affects the stability of a precursor of a regulator protein by converting it from a stable (inactive) to an unstable (active) form with a short half-life.     

A Leydig cell tumour: a model for the study of lutropin action.

The properties of cells isolated from a Leydig cell tumour have been compared with normal rat testis Leydig cells. These cells were found to be similar in the following respects: 1. Lutropin-stimulated cyclic AMP and testosterone production. 2. Lutropin-activated protein kinase activity followed by phosphorylation of endogenous proteins of mol. wts. 57,000and 14,000. 3. Parallel lutropin dose vs. response curves for phosphorylation of the endogenous proteins and for testosterone production. 4. Two forms of isoenzyme, cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase, present. They differed mainly with respect to the lutropin-stimulated testosterone production, which was much lower in the tumour cells compared with the normal adult testis Leydig cells (4.6 +/- 1.1 and 114 +/- 16 ng testosterone/10(6) cells per 2 h, respectively). However, the lutropin-stimulated steroid production in the tumour cells was quantitatively comparable with the normal rat Leydig cell when the metabolism of pregnenolone in intact cells and mitochondria was inhibited by addition of SU-10603 and/or cyanoketone. It is concluded that the Leydig cell tumour used in this study can be used to investigate certain aspects of lutropin action where large quantities of cells are required.     

Protein Phosphorylation in Astrocytes Mediated by Protein Kinase C: Comparison with Phosphorylation by Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase

The protein kinase C activator, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), has been found recently to transform cultured astrocytes from flat, polygonal cells into stellate-shaped, process-bearing cells. Studies were conducted to determine the effect of PMA on protein phosphorylation in astrocytes and to compare this pattern of phosphorylation with that elicited by dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP), an activator of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase which also affects astrocyte morphology. Exposure to PMA increased the amount of 32P incorporation into several phosphoproteins, including two cytosolic proteins with molecular weights of 30,000 (pI 5.5 and 5.7), an acidic 80,000 molecular weight protein (pI 4.5) present in both the cytosolic and membrane fractions, and two cytoskeletal proteins with molecular weights of 60,000 (pI 5.3) and 55,000 (pI 5.6), identified as vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein, respectively. Effects of PMA on protein phosphorylation were not observed in cells depleted of protein kinase C. In contrast to the effect observed with PMA, treatment with dbcAMP decreased the amount of 32P incorporation into the 80,000 protein. Like PMA, treatment with dbcAMP increased the 32P incorporation into the proteins with molecular weights of 60,000, 55,000 and 30,000, although the magnitude of this effect was different. The effect of dbcAMP on protein phosphorylation was still observed in cells depleted of protein kinase C. The results suggest that PMA, via the activation of protein kinase C, can alter the phosphorylation of a number of proteins in astrocytes, and some of these same phosphoproteins are also phosphorylated by the cyclic AMP-dependent mechanisms.     

Effect of different steroidogenic stimuli on protein phosphorylation and steroidogenesis in MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells.

Numerous studies have indicated that treatment of Leydig cells with gonadotropin results in increased levels of intracellular cAMP, binding of cAMP to and activation of protein kinase A, phosphorylation of proteins, synthesis of new proteins and eventually, stimulation of steroidogenesis. In addition, recent studies have indicated that protein phosphorylation is an indispensable event in the production of steroids in response to hormone stimulation in adrenal cells. Because of the important role of phosphorylation in steroidogenic regulation, we investigated the effects of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP), forskolin and the phorbol ester, phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on protein phosphorylation in MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells. Cells were stimulated with different steroidogenic compounds in the presence of [32P]orthophosphoric acid for 2 h and phosphoproteins analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel-electrophoresis (PAGE). Results demonstrated an increase in the phosphorylation of four proteins (22 kDa, pI 5.9; 24 kDa, pI 6.7 and 30 kDa, pI 6.3 and 6.5) in response to 34 ng/ml hCG, 1 mM dbcAMP and 100 microM forskolin. Conversely, treatment of cells with PMA increased the phosphorylation of only one of these proteins (30 kDa, pI 6.3). At least two of these proteins (30 kDa, pI 6.5 and 6.3) appear to be identical to proteins which we and others have shown to be synthesized in response to trophic hormone stimulation in adrenal, luteal and Leydig cells. In addition, they also appear to be identical to adrenal cell mitochondrial proteins demonstrated to be phosphorylated in response to ACTH. These data indicate that proteins similar to those phosphorylated in adrenal cells in response to ACTH are phosphorylated in hormone stimulated testicular Leydig cells and that these proteins may be involved in steroidogenic regulation.     

The preparation and purification of isolated rat corpus-luteum cells and their use in studying the relationship between cholesterol biosynthesis and the lutropin-stimulated formation of progesterone.

Isolated luteal cells, prepared from superovulated rat ovaries by digestion with collagenase, were subjected to density-gradient centrifugation on Percoll to give a more highly purified preparation of luteal cells than has been reported previously. The cells formed progesterone when incubated in vitro; lutropin stimulated this steroidogenesis. Progesterone formation was linear for at least 2 h; a minimal lutropin concentration of 1.0 ng/ml was needed for stimulation and concentrations of 3.0 and 100 ng/ml gave half-maximal and maximal responses respectively. The cells were unresponsive towards hormones other than lutropin. Exposure to lutropin raised the cellular cyclic AMP concentration, and dibutyryl cyclic AMP, but not dibutyryl cyclic GMP, was as effective in stimulating steroidogenesis as was lutropin. Aminoglutethimide, an inhibitor of cholesterol side-chain cleavage, completely blocked progesterone formation by the cells, showing cholesterol side-chain cleavage to be an obligatory step in steroidogenesis by these cells. Neither the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase nor the incorporation of radioactively labelled acetate or mevalonate into cholesterol by cells incubated in vitro were detectable unless the rats had been treated previously with 4-aminopyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine. In cells from rats so treated, compactin was found to block almost completely the incorporation of radioactively labelled acetate, but not of mevalonate, into cholesterol, indicating that this inhibitor acts in corpus luteum in the same way as it does in other tissues. In cells from rats not treated with 4-aminopyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine compactin had no effect on progesterone formation in vitro, showing cholesterol biosynthesis to be unnecessary for the rapid steroidogenic response by luteal cells to lutropin.     

Regulation by lipolytic and antillipolytic compounds of the phosphorylation of specific proteins in isolated intact fat cells.

The effects of various lipolytic and antilipolytic compounds on the phosphorylation of specific proteins, on lipolysis, and on cyclic AMP levels have been studied in isolated intact fat cells of rats. Norepinephrine (NE), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), and monobutyryl cyclic AMP (MBcAMP) each increased the incorporation of [³²P] into three proteins, with apparent molecular weights of approximately 130,000 (protein A), 69,000 (protein B), and 47,000 (protein C), as determined by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (DodSO₄^?). The concentrations of lipolytic agents necessary to obtain a half-maximal increase in phosphorylation of these proteins were similar to the concentrations necessary to obtain a half-maximal stimulation of lipolysis. Propranolol, a β-adrenergic blocking agent, blocked the effects of NE both on protein phosphorylation and on lipolysis, but did not modify the effects of ACTH, IBMX, or MBcAMP on these parameters. When the NE-induced increase in phosphorylation of proteins B and C was maximal, addition of propranolol resulted in a rapid dephosphorylation of these proteins and a rapid cessation of lipolysis; under the same experimental conditions, propranolol had almost no effect on the dephosphorylation of protein A. Concentrations of insulin that prevented or reversed the actions of NE and ACTH on lipolysis also prevented or reversed the NE- and ACTH-induced increase in [³²P] incorporation into proteins B and C. Insulin did not modify the effects of IBMX or MBcAMP either on lipolysis or on [³²P] incorporation into proteins B and C. Insulin increased the incorporation of [³²P] into a protein which, by several criteria, appeared to be protein A. Under a variety of experimental conditions in which lipolytic and antilipolytic hormones were studied, the rate of lipolysis correlated well with the level of phosphorylation of proteins B and C, but not with the level of cyclic AMP.     

Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Phosphorylation in Isolated Neuronal Growth Cones from Developing Rat Forebrain

We have shown recently that neuronal growth cones isolated from developing rat forebrain possess an appreciable activity of adenylate cyclase, which produces cyclic AMP and can be stimulated by various neurotransmitter receptor agonists and by forskolin. To investigate cyclic AMP-mediated biochemical mechanisms in isolated growth cones, we have centered the present study on cyclic AMP-dependent protein phosphorylation. One-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis showed that cyclic AMP analogs increased incorporation of 32P into several phosphoproteins in molecular mass ranges of 50-58 and 76-82 kilodaltons, including those of 82, 76, and 51 kilodaltons. Two-dimensional electrophoresis, using isoelectric focusing in the first dimension, resolved phosphorylated alpha- and beta-tubulin species, actin, a very acidic protein (isoelectric point 4.0) with a molecular mass of 93 kilodaltons, and two proteins (x and x') closely neighboring beta-tubulin. Two other phosphoproteins seen in the gels had molecular masses of 56 and 51 kilodaltons (respective isoelectric points, 4.5 and 4.4) and, along with the 93-kilodalton phosphoprotein, were highly enriched in the isolated growth cones. Only the tubulin and actin species were major proteins in the isolated growth cones. Cyclic AMP analogs enhanced incorporation of 32P into phosphoproteins x and x', and, as assessed by immunoprecipitation, into beta-tubulin. Peptide digest experiments suggested that phosphoproteins x and x' are unrelated to beta-tubulin. Nonequilibrium two-dimensional electrophoresis resolved many phosphoproteins, of which a 79- and 75-kilodalton doublet, a 74-kilodalton species, and a 58-kilodalton doublet showed enhanced incorporation of 32P in the presence of cyclic AMP.     

The Effect of Neurocatin on Protein Phosphorylation in Striatal Synaptosomes from Rat Brain

Abstract: Neurocatin, a neuroregulatory factor isolated from mammalian brain, is a powerful affector of protein phosphorylation in rat striatal synaptosomes. Two major synaptosomal phosphoproteins of ～80 and ～60 kDa, possibly synapsin I and tyrosine hydroxylase, were especially sensitive to neurocatin. Immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed that the 60-kDa protein is the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. At low concentrations of neurocatin (to ～7.5 ng/100 μl of suspension), incorporation of ³²P orthophosphate into these proteins increased with increasing neurocatin concentration. At 7.5 ng of neurocatin, incorporation of the label into the two proteins increased by 22 and 26%, respectively. Concentrations of neurocatin >7.5 ng/100 μl caused progressive decrease in incorporation of ³²P into many synaptosomal proteins; by a concentration of neurocatin of ～45 ng/100 μ/l, the level of ³²P incorporation into many proteins was ≤70% of control. The effects of neurocatin on synaptosomal protein phosphorylation were also dependent on the time of incubation. At a constant concentration of ～7.5 ng/100 μl of neurocatin, increased incorporation of 32P into many proteins was measurable within 0.5 min and was maximal by 1 min. Incubation times >2.0 min, showed progressive decrease in ³²P incorporation. Removing extrasynaptosomal Ca²⁺ with EGTA attenuated the increased ³²P incorporation induced by low neurocatin concentrations, suggesting that calcium plays a role in neurocatin-induced phosphorylation of rat striatal synaptosomal proteins. The reduced incorporation of label induced by high neurocatin concentrations, however, was not calcium dependent. The effects of neurocatin on the level of ³²P incorporation into proteins were observed only in intact synaptosomes, consistent with this compound acting through receptors on the plasma membrane.     

Protein phosphorylation in rat mammary acini and in cytosol preparations in vitro. Phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase is unaffected by cyclic AMP.

Phosphorylation of soluble proteins in rat mammary acinar cells was investigated. When phosphorylation proceeded in intact cells, in the presence of [32P]Pi, the major non-casein phosphoproteins, including acetyl-CoA carboxylase, were unresponsive to incubation conditions that caused major increases in the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP. The overall 32P specific radioactivity (c.p.m./microgram of protein) of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, assessed after affinity purification of the enzyme with avidin-Sepharose, was unchanged by incubation under such conditions. Furthermore, the distribution of 32P among tryptic phosphopeptides of the enzyme, resolved by reversed-phase h.p.l.c., was not altered by cyclic AMP-increasing treatments of the acinar cells. When cytosol fractions were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP, some phosphoproteins responded to the addition of micromolar concentrations of dibutyryl cyclic AMP or cyclic AMP by undergoing an enhancement of phosphate incorporation. In these experiments in vitro, protein phosphatase activity did not make a major contribution to the net phosphorylation of individual phosphoproteins, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase was not prominent among the phosphoproteins identified after short (less than 1 min) incubations of cytosols with [gamma-32P]ATP. The resistance of protein phosphorylation to variations in the cyclic AMP concentration in intact mammary epithelial cells, demonstrated by this work, is one of several mechanisms that ensure the pleiotropic refractoriness of those cells to agents which normally cause a stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in hormone-sensitive cells.     

The aging Leydig cell: 2. Two distinct populations of Leydig cells and the possible site of defective steroidogenesis

Using metrizamide gradient centrifugation two populations of Leydig cells were found in both 60-90 day-old and 24 month-old rats. Cells from both Band 2 (B2) and Band 3 (B3) responded to LH stimulation with increased cyclic AMP formation; however, only B3 cells produced significant amounts of testosterone. Cells from both B2 and B3 of the old rats synthesized less cyclic AMP and testosterone than cells from their younger counterparts. In response to LH stimulation, 0.01 - 1.0 mIU/ml, no appreciable difference of cyclic AMP formation could be detected between young and old Leydig cells. Maximal testosterone production occurred when 1 mIU/ml LH was used. Only when LH concentration was increased to 10 and 100 mIU/ml, did young Leydig cells produce significantly more cyclic AMP than old Leydig cells. After addition of 5X10(-7)M of pregnenolone or progesterone to the incubation medium, both young and old Leydig cells produced comparable amounts of testosterone. These results demonstrate no impairment of old rat Leydig cells to synthesize testosterone from pregnenolone and progesterone.     

Resensitization of lutropin-desensitized tumour Leydig-cell adenylate cyclase with human erythrocyte membranes.

Purified rat tumour Leydig cells were pretreated with or without lutropin (1 h at 32 degrees C). The plasma membranes were then isolated and the adenylate cyclase activity measured in the presence of freshly prepared or heat-inactivated (1 h at 60 degrees C) human erythrocyte membranes. In plasma membranes from control cells in the presence of heat-inactivated human erythrocyte membranes both guanosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG) plus lutropin and NaF caused a 45--50-fold increase in cyclic AMP production over 30 min compared with 12--13 fold p[NH[ppG and 2--3-fold with lutropin alone. In plasma membranes isolated from lutropin-pretreated cells the NaF- and the p[NH]ppG-stimulated cyclic AMP production rates were unchanged, but no effect of lutropin could be demonstrated with or without added p[NH]ppG. However, after mixing lutropin-desensitized Leydig tumour-cell plasma membranes with freshly prepared human erythrocyte plasma membranes, the adenylate cyclase activity in the presence of lutropin, p[NH]ppG, lutropin plus p[NH]ppG and NaF were similar to those of control cell plasma membranes treated in the same manner. The possible mechanisms of this reversal of lutropin-induced desensitization by human erythrocytes are discussed.     

Co-ordinated changes in the cyclic AMP signalling system and the phosphorylation of two nuclear proteins of Mr 130,000 and 110,000 during proliferative stimulation of the rat parotid gland by isoprenaline. Possible identity of the two proteins with pp135 and nucleolin.

Parotid glands were stimulated to growth by repeated injection of the beta-agonist isoprenaline into rats. Incubation of intact parotid-gland lobules with [32P]Pi and subsequent analysis of nuclear proteins revealed in the stimulated glands an increased 32P incorporation into two acid-soluble non-histone proteins with apparent Mr values of 110,000 and 130,000 (p110 and p130). After a single injection of isoprenaline, leading to a biphasic increase in DNA synthesis (maximum at 24 h), the same two proteins showed a transiently increased 32P incorporation at 17 h after injection. At this time point at the onset of DNA synthesis the total activity of soluble cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase decreased. No change in p110/p130 phosphorylation was observed at 0.3 h after stimulation, a time of maximal stimulation of secretion. Administration of the beta-antagonist propranolol 8 h after the injection of isoprenaline suppressed the increase in DNA synthesis, the preceding changes in the concentration of cyclic AMP and in the activity of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, as well as the increased phosphorylation of p110 and p130. Cross-reactivity of p110 and p130 with specific antisera against two nucleolar phosphoproteins of similar molecular mass (nucleolin and pp135), as well as their localization in a nucleolar cell fraction, indicated a possible identity of p110 and p130 with these two proteins. Our results suggest that nucleolin and pp135 are nuclear target proteins of cyclic AMP in the cyclic AMP-influenced regulation of the transition of cells from the G1 to the S phase.     

The role of Ca2+ in steroidogenesis in Leydig cells. Stimulation of intracellular free Ca2+ by lutropin (LH), luliberin (LHRH) agonist and cyclic AMP.

The requirements of purified rat Leydig cells for intra- and extra-cellular Ca2+ during steroidogenesis stimulated by LH (lutropin), cyclic AMP analogues and LHRH (luliberin) agonist were investigated. The intracellular Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) were measured by using the fluorescent Ca2+ chelator quin-2. The basal [Ca2+]i was found to be 89.4 +/- 16.6 nM (mean +/- S.D., n = 25). LH, 8-bromo cyclic AMP and dibutyryl cyclic AMP increased [Ca2+]i, by 300-500 nM at the highest concentrations of each stimulator, whereas LHRH agonist only increased [Ca2+]i by a maximum of approx. 60 nM. Low concentrations of LH (less than 1 pg/ml) and all concentrations of LHRH agonist increased testosterone without detectable changes in cyclic AMP. With amounts of LH greater than 1 pg/ml, parallel increases in cyclic AMP and [Ca2+]i occurred. The steroidogenic effect of the LHRH agonist was highly dependent on extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]e), whereas LH effects were only decreased by 35% when [Ca2+]e was lowered from 2.5 nM to 1.1 microM. No increase in [Ca2+]i occurred with the LHRH agonist in the low-[Ca2+]e medium, whereas LH (100 ng/ml) gave an increase of 52 nM. It is concluded that [Ca2+]i can be modulated in rat Leydig cells by LH via mechanisms that are both independent of and dependent on cyclic AMP, whereas LHRH-agonist action on [Ca2+]i is independent of cyclic AMP. The evidence obtained suggests that, at sub-maximal rates of testosterone production, Ca2+, rather than cyclic AMP, is the second messenger, whereas for maximum steroidogenesis both Ca2+- and cyclic-AMP-dependent pathways may be involved.     

Calcium-phospholipid enhanced protein phosphorylation in human placenta

Calcium-activated, phospholipid-dependent protein phosphorylation has not been studied in placenta. Human placental cytosol was subjected to an endogenous protein phosphorylation assay using [gamma-32P]ATP in the presence of calcium and phosphatidylserine. Protein phosphorylation was assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. When compared to basal levels, calcium (10(-6) M) in combination with phosphatidylserine (50 micrograms/ml) significantly enhanced (P less than 0.01) 32P incorporation into phosphoproteins having mol wt 47,000, 43,000, and 37,000. Half-maximal 32P incorporation was observed with 3.5 X 10(-7) M Ca2+ in the presence of phosphatidylserine (50 micrograms/ml). The effect of phosphatidylserine was biphasic. In the presence of Ca 10(-6) M, 32P incorporation increased to a maximum at 70 micrograms/ml of phosphatidylserine. The increase was suppressed at 150 micrograms/ml. Tetracaine caused a dose-dependent inhibition of calcium-activated, phospholipid-dependent enhancement of the three phosphorproteins. Calcium in the absence of phospholipid enhanced the phosphorylation of a protein of 98,000 mol wt. Phosphatidylserine suppressed this enhancement. Calmodulin (10(-6) M) had no detectable effect upon phosphorylation beyond that of calcium alone, but the calmodulin inhibitor R-24571 specificlly inhibited the calcium-stimulated 98,000 mol wt phosphoprotein. Calcium-activated, phospholipid-dependent phosphoproteins are present in human placental cytosol; whether calcium-activated, calmodulin-dependent phosphoproteins also are present remains a question.     

Effect of secretin on protein phosphorylation in dispersed acini from rat pancreas

Dispersed acini from rat pancreas, incubated in the presence of KH2(32)PO4 to steady state 32P incorporation into cellular proteins, were exposed to secretin. 32P incorporated into selected proteins, separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, reached a plateau by 150 min. Effect of secretin on amylase release, cellular cyclic AMP levels and protein phosphorylation was then examined. Stimulation of amylase release was apparent with 10(-10)M and was maximal with 10(-7)M by 10 min incubation. Almost maximal increase in cellular cyclic AMP levels and 32P incorporation into selected proteins was also observed with 10(-7)M secretin by 10 min in the presence of 10 mM theophyllin. Both secretin (10(-8)M) and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (10(-3)M) induced the phosphorylation of similar proteins analyzed by counting 32P content in each peptide band after SDS gel electrophoresis. Addition of cyclic AMP (10(-6)M) to homogenates of acini also augmented 32P incorporation from [gamma-32P]ATP into similar proteins. These results indicate that secretin enhances protein phosphorylation in pancreatic acinar cells and cyclic AMP may mediate the action of secretin on protein phosphorylation.