Regulation by butyrate of the cAMP response to cholera toxin and forskolin in pituitary GH1 cells

In pituitary GH1 cells, a rat growth hormone-producing cell line, butyrate elicited a dose-dependent increase in cholera toxin receptors as measured by an increased binding of 125I-labeled cholera toxin to the intact cells. Butyrate did not alter the affinity of cholera toxin binding, the dissociation constant being 0.4 nM for both control and butyrate-treated cells. Despite the increased binding, the cAMP response to cholera toxin was strongly reduced after exposure to butyrate. This reduction was dose-dependent and with butyrate 1--5 mM, intracellular and extracellular (medium) cAMP levels were decreased by more than 70% in cells incubated for 24 h with 1 nM cholera toxin. Forskolin (30 microM) elicited a cAMP response similar to that found with the toxin, and a similar inhibition of cAMP was also found after incubation of GH1 cells with butyrate. Butyrate also affected basal cAMP levels which were reduced by 40--60% in cells cultured for 24--48 h with the fatty acid. In order to study whether butyrate influenced cAMP synthesis and/or cAMP degradation, adenylyl cyclase and phosphodiesterase activities were determined in control cells and in cells incubated for 24 h with cholera toxin or forskolin. Butyrate had a dual effect since, besides activating phosphodiesterase by more than twofold, it also inhibited the cyclase by 40--50% in all groups. The in vitro response of adenylyl cyclase to stimulatory (NaF) and inhibitory (carbachol and adenosine) effectors was also examined. The absolute activity of the cyclase was always 40--50% lower in the cells incubated with butyrate, but the percentage change of activity obtained in butyrate-treated and untreated cells was unaltered. In addition, ADP-ribosylation of the guanine nucleotide stimulatory component of the cyclase (Gs) was not affected in the cells incubated with butyrate. These results suggest that the catalytic (C) subunit of adenylyl cyclase and/or its interaction with the regulatory components might be altered in butyrate-treated GH1 cells. The inhibition of the cAMP response in GH1 cells was accompanied by an inhibition of a biological action of the nucleotide, namely growth hormone (somatotropin) production which is primarily controlled by thyroid hormones in these cells. Forskolin alone did not affect the somatotropin levels but potentiated the growth hormone response to triiodothyronine. Butyrate produced a dose-dependent inhibition of this response, which was totally abolished at concentrations of butyrate higher than 1 mM.