Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A recent study from this laboratory has shown that the inflammatory mediator, interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), stimulates protein kinase A (PKA) activity and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion from AtT-20 cells without any detectable increase in intracellular cAMP accumulation. The present studies were conducted to determine if cAMP is involved in IL-1 alpha activation of PKA and if PKA is responsible for IL-1 alpha-induced ACTH release from AtT-20 cells. The data are consistent with a novel mechanism of PKA activation that does not involve cAMP. Inhibition of adenylate cyclase with 2'5'-dideoxyadenosine (2'5'-DDA) did not affect IL-1 alpha-induced increases in PKA activity and ACTH secretion. In contrast, CRF-stimulated PKA activity and ACTH secretion were inhibited by 2'5'-DDA. Additional evidence was obtained using the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). IBMX did not alter IL-1 alpha-induced PKA activity or ACTH secretion, yet IBMX potentiated CRF-induced cAMP accumulation. Inhibition of PKA with the PKA inhibitor, H-8, blocked activation of PKA and ACTH secretion by both IL-1 alpha and CRF in AtT-20 cells. These observations demonstrate that 1) the mechanism of IL-1 alpha activation of PKA is independent of adenylate cyclase or cAMP and 2) PKA is used by IL-1 alpha to induce ACTH secretion from AtT-20 cells.
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PMID:Interleukin-1 increases protein kinase A activity by a cAMP-independent mechanism in AtT-20 cells. 750 95

Intracellular Ca2+ (Cai2+) stores contribute significantly to Ca2+ signaling in many types of cells. We studied the role of inositol trisphosphate (InsP3)-sensitive Ca2+ stores, a principal Cai2+ store that presumably is within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), in cell signaling by examining the effect of thapsigargin (Tg), an ER Ca2+ pump inhibitor that depletes the ER Ca2+ pool, on ACTH secretion. Preincubation for 6-24 h with 2-20 nM Tg had no effect on the resting cytosolic free Ca2+ concentrations ([Cai2+]) but inhibited the ionomycin-stimulated spike-type increase in [Cai2+], which is mediated by InsP3-independent Cai2+ release from the ER, in a dose-dependent (IC50, 4 nM) and time-dependent manner. In ER Cai(2+)-depleted cells, the spike phase (initial 5 min) of the ACTH secretory response to arginine vasopressin (AVP), which is mediated by InsP3-induced Cai2+ release, was also attenuated (IC50, 7.3 nM). However, the spike phase of the ACTH secretory response to AVP was inhibited to a much greater degree than the spike-type response to ionomycin, suggesting that ER Cai2+ stores might have functions other than simply providing Ca2+ for InsP3-stimulated Cai2+ release. Tg pretreatment (IC50, 12 nM) also markedly inhibited the sustained plateau (final 15-min) phase of the ACTH secretory response to AVP, which is mediated by diacylglycerol-induced activation of protein kinase C and subsequent influx of extracellular Ca2+ via L-type voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels (VSCC), but had no effect on the sustained (full 20 min) response to dioctanoylglycerol that directly activates protein kinase C. Tg had no effect on specific cell binding of [125I]AVP or on specific cell binding of [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (except at 20 nM Tg), an index of protein kinase C concentration, or on protein kinase C activity. AVP significantly stimulated inositol trisphosphate accumulation, but pretreatment with Tg completely abolished this effect of AVP, whereas [3H]myoinositol incorporation into membrane-associated inositol lipids and inositol phosphates was unaffected. Thus, Tg-induced depletion of ER Cai2+ stores inhibited both the spike and plateau phases of the ACTH secretory response to AVP, presumably by inhibiting phospholipase C activity and the resulting generation of InsP3 and diacylglycerol. Preincubation with Tg inhibited, in a dose-dependent (IC50, 13 nM) and time-dependent manner, the sustained ACTH secretory response to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) that is mediated by cAMP-induced activation of protein kinase A and Cae2+ influx via L-type VSCC, and the sustained response to forskolin, which directly activates adenylate cyclase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Role of inositol trisphosphate-sensitive calcium stores in the regulation of adrenocorticotropin secretion by perifused rat anterior pituitary cells. 758 88

The modulation of membrane excitability and cytosolic Ca2+ levels by corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), (Bu)2cAMP (dBcAMP), and forskolin was examined in enriched populations of cultured rat anterior pituitary corticotropes. CRH (2 or 20 nM), dBcAMP (1 and 5 mM), and forskolin (10 microM) caused a long lasting membrane depolarization accompanied by the onset of cell firing in quiescent cells or by increased firing frequency in spontaneously active cells. All three substances also increased cytosolic Ca2+ levels by increasing the frequency and amplitude of cytosolic Ca2+ transients. These results are consistent with a previous report on human corticotrope tumor cells demonstrating that CRH-induced action potentials lead to enhancement of Ca2+ uptake through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. Preincubation with (N-[2-(p-bromocinnamylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (H-89), an inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A, did not inhibit the CRH-induced depolarization, but attenuated the CRH-induced increase in action potential frequency. H-89 inhibited CRH-induced changes in cytosolic Ca2+ by 69% in spontaneously active cells and by 83% in quiescent cells. In contrast, H-89 completely abolished the effects of dBcAMP and forskolin on membrane potential and cytosolic Ca2+ levels. It is concluded that activation of protein kinase A mediates all of the response to dBcAMP and forskolin, but only a portion of the response to CRH. The portion of the response to CRH that is resistant to H-89 is mediated by a cAMP-independent mechanism.
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PMID:Corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation of Ca2+ entry in corticotropes is partially dependent on protein kinase A. 764 1

Melanin is specifically produced in melanocytes. The pathway for melanin biosynthesis is regulated by a number of melanocyte-specific proteins, including tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1, b locus protein). To understand the regulation of melanogenesis, we examined tyrosinase activities, mRNA levels of tyrosinase and TRP-1, and eumelanin and pheomelanin contents in mouse B16-F1 melanoma cells after they had been treated with some melanotropic reagents. Cholera toxin, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and dibutyryl cyclic AMP increased tyrosinase activity and stimulated eumelanin biosynthesis. These reagents elevated intracellular cAMP levels. In contrast, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate reduced tyrosinase activity and eumelanin synthesis. In all cases, the mRNA levels of tyrosinase and TRP-1 changed in parallel with tyrosinase activity and eumelanin content. TRP-1 was induced simultaneously with tyrosinase, although its inducibility was lower than that of tyrosinase. These results suggest that the expressions of tyrosinase and TRP-1 genes are coordinately regulated by melanotropic reagents through cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C in mouse B16-F1 cells, and that their coordinate expression causes eumelanin biosynthesis.
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PMID:Eumelanin biosynthesis is regulated by coordinate expression of tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein-1 genes. 768 98

The biological effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) 27 and 38 on peptide secretion and gene regulation were studied in the mouse corticotrope-derived cell line AtT20. Treatment of these cells with PACAP 27/38 led to a dose-dependent increase in cAMP content and ACTH accumulation in the medium with an apparent ED50 value close to 10(-9) M. The genomic effects of PACAP were first investigated by using a reporter gene containing a cAMP responsive element (CRE: TGACGTCA) PACAP 27/38 stimulate transcription from this construction and the effect is further increased when cells are cotreated with the phosphodiesterase inhibitor rolipram. Furthermore, we show by measuring nuclear heterologous proopiomelanocortin (POMC) RNA levels or by using a reporter gene containing the POMC promoter region, that PACAP stimulates POMC transcription. This transcriptional stimulation is mediated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) since genetic inactivation of PKA by a dominant inhibitory mutant of this enzyme completely abolished the effect of PACAP on POMC transcription. Finally, we show that the transcriptional stimulation of POMC by PACAP is repressed by the glucocorticoid receptor agonist dexamethasone. Taken together, these data suggest that PACAP is a hypophysiotropic hormone that exert similar if not identical functions as corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) on corticotrope cells.
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PMID:Pituitary adenyl cyclase-activating peptide: a hypophysiotropic factor that stimulates proopiomelanocortin gene transcription, and proopiomelanocortin-derived peptide secretion in corticotropic cells. 784 39

A corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and cAMP-responsive region (-236/-133) in the rat POMC gene promoter previously reported to confer CRH/cAMP responsiveness to heterologous reporter constructs has been characterized. DNAse footprint analysis revealed that multiple elements in this region were bound by nuclear proteins from the POMC expressing AtT20 cells. When these individual DNA elements were separately tested in heterologous reporter constructs for CRH induction, only one element, designated PCRH-RE (POMC CRH responsive element, -171/-160) was found to give strong CRH stimulation (5- to 7-fold). This element appears novel as to the possible binding factors, although it has homology to the mouse metallothionein metal regulatory element. Gel shift analyses of the PCRH-RE with AtT20 cell nuclear extracts showed marked stimulation of retarded nucleoproteins following CRH stimulation, suggesting that the possible binding factor(s) may mediate transcriptional regulation at this site. The activity of PCRH-RE binding protein was inhibited by divalent cations, with Cu2+ and Cd2+ being most effective; Zn2+ had no effect, indicating that this binding factor(s) is functionally distinct from the metallothionein metal regulatory element binding protein. A 2.6 kilobase cDNA clone encoding a protein (PCRH-REB-1) binding to this element was isolated by Southwestern screening of an AtT20 expression library with radiolabeled PCRH-RE oligonucleotides. This clone was used to isolate several other cDNA clones to determine the sequence corresponding to the entire coding region of the protein (PCRH-REB), which proved to be identical to a recently described DNA binding protein of the replication factor C complex, mRFC140/Mouse Southwestern. Primer extension and Northern blot analysis revealed that the size of the full length mRNA is about 4.9 kilobases. PCRH-REB mRNA expression is not restricted to corticotrophs but is present in a broad tissue distribution as evaluated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis. A bacterially expressed beta-galactosidase-PCRH-REB-1 fusion protein was shown to bind PCRH-RE efficiently. Furthermore, binding of the PCRH-REB-1 fusion protein to the POMC CRH-responsive element was inhibited by divalent cations with similar sensitivities to those observed using AtT20 nuclear extracts. The predicted PCHR-REB protein sequence presents several interesting motifs: one p-Loop motif (ATP binding site), nine protein kinase A phosphorylation sites (implying a possible role in responding to the CRH-induced cAMP signal), and regions of homology to proteins involved in DNA replication and repair. PCRH-REB is, therefore, a potential transacting factor binding to a major CRH-responsive element in the POMC promoter.
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PMID:Characterization of a corticotropin-releasing hormone-responsive element in the rat proopiomelanocortin gene promoter and molecular cloning of its binding protein. 785 55

A pheochromocytoma from a 59-year-old woman was found to be immunoreactive to adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), chromogranin, neurofilament-200, neuron-specific enolase and S-100 protein. Northern blot analysis showed that both proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) genes were expressed in the pheochromocytoma but not in the surrounding adrenal cortex. In primary culture, the POMC and CRH mRNAs were increased by dexamethasone (500 micrograms/l for 3 days) up to 10- and 15-fold of the control, respectively. The secretion of ACTH also was stimulated eightfold with the same treatment. The stimulatory effect of dexamethasone on POMC gene expression was inhibited 70% by nerve growth factor (NGF, 200 micrograms/l), 30% by 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate (TPA, 160 nmol/l) (a protein kinase-C activator) and 30% by (Bu)2cAMP (1 mmol/l). On the other hand, NGF alone increased the CRH mRNA accumulation up to 10-fold, and further enhanced the stimulatory effect of dexamethasone on the CRH mRNA twofold, and TPA inhibited (30%) the dexamethasone-induced CRH mRNA accumulation. Furthermore, the conditioned medium of the pheochromocytoma cells increased secretion of corticosterone fourfold in the primary culture of rat fetal adrenal cells. Our results indicate abnormal expression and regulation of POMC and CRH genes in this pheochromocytoma.
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PMID:Pheochromocytoma expressing adrenocorticotropin and corticotropin-releasing hormone; regulation by glucocorticoids and nerve growth factor. 792 Dec 4

Although C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) has been shown to exist at the highest concentration in the anterior pituitary in rat tissues, its physiological role(s) there is (are) not clear. In this study, we report a novel function of CNP examined with anterior pituitary-derived cell lines, GH3 and AtT20/D16v-F2. Both CNP and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) increased cellular cGMP levels in both cell lines in dose-dependent manners. CNP, but not ANP, stimulated growth hormone (GH) release from GH3 cells. In contrast, neither ANP nor CNP had any significant effect on the corticotropin release from AtT20/D16v-F2 cells. An activator for cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGK), dibutyryl cGMP, mimicked the stimulation of GH release from GH3 cells by CNP. Constitutive GH release from GH3 cells was greatly diminished in the presence of inhibitors for cAMP-dependent protein kinase, while stimulative GH release by CNP was not affected. However, inhibitors which can block cGK almost completely diminished the stimulative effect of CNP. An inhibitor for protein kinase C did not show any effect on either constitutive or CNP-stimulative GH release. Our observations indicate that the stimulation of GH release from GH3 cells by CNP is mediated mainly by the cGK signal-transduction pathway, not by cAMP-dependent protein kinase or protein kinase C, through a CNP-specific receptor (possibly ANP-B receptor). Thus, CNP may act as a local modulator in the anterior pituitary.
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PMID:C-type natriuretic peptide stimulates secretion of growth hormone from rat-pituitary-derived GH3 cells via a cyclic-GMP-mediated pathway. 802 May 2

Early glucocorticoid feedback in sheep anterior pituitary (AP) cells was compared and contrasted with that in mouse pituitary tumor AtT-20 cells. Dexamethasone (DEX) inhibited corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)-stimulated adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) release in a concentration- and time-dependent manner with similar potency amongst cell types. This inhibition was mediated through type II glucocorticoid receptors and required the synthesis of new protein. However, stimulation of protein kinase C with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) resulted in greater ACTH release and greater inhibition by DEX in sheep AP cells. In contrast to sheep AP cells, AtT-20 cells were insensitive to glucocorticoids when secretion was stimulated by KCl depolarization or the voltage-dependent calcium channel agonist, maitotoxin (MTX). In both cell types, CRH-, KCl-, and MTX-stimulated ACTH release was inhibited by the calcium channel blocker, nifedipine (NIF). Whereas NIF also inhibited PMA-induced ACTH secretion in AtT-20 cells, it did not in sheep AP cells. These data demonstrate that early glucocorticoid feedback is operative in sheep corticotrophs and that AtT-20 cells appear to serve as an appropriate mechanistic model for aspects of negative feedback when the CRH-protein kinase A pathway is activated but may not be appropriate when ACTH secretion is activated via other intracellular signaling pathways.
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PMID:Glucocorticoid negative feedback in sheep corticotrophs: a comparison with AtT-20 corticotroph tumor cells. 806 55

Specific high-affinity receptors for alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) are found in variable abundance on many melanoma cell lines. We have examined melanocortin peptides and other factors for their ability to regulate the number of MSH receptors in eleven human and two mouse melanoma cell lines. MSH induced up-regulation of its own receptors in three human cell lines and down-regulation in six human and two mouse melanoma cell lines. No regulation was observed in two human lines. Scatchard analysis revealed modulation of the number of receptors per cell without any change in affinity. The concentrations inducing half-maximal response for up- and down-regulation were 1.6 nM and 0.23 nM, respectively. ACTH1-17 and [Nle4,D-Phe7]-alpha-MSH were more potent, whereas ACTH1-24, desacetyl-alpha-MSH, and [Nle4]-alpha-MSH were less potent in receptor up-regulation as compared to alpha-MSH. Down-regulation but not up-regulation could be fully mimicked by Gs-protein activation and partially by elevation of cellular cAMP. Combination of different agents which increase cAMP was found to be counterregulatory. TPA and retinoic acid generally down-regulated MSH receptors but had no effect on HBL cells. Several protein kinase inhibitors increased MSH binding in B16 cells. MSH-induced receptor down-regulation and melanin synthesis were most effectively antagonized by selective inhibitors of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in these cells. Taken together, MSH receptors on melanoma cells are both positively and negatively regulated. Whereas cAMP-dependent protein kinase activation seems to be involved in down-regulation, the mechanism responsible for up-regulation remains to be elucidated.
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PMID:Homologous and heterologous regulation of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptors in human and mouse melanoma cell lines. 816 86


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