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)

The data presented with the isolated adrenal cells, in the present study, show that adrenocorticotropin in the physiological concentration range stimulates the synthesis of guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate(cyclic GMP), protein kinase activity, and steroidogenesis in a concentration-dependent manner without detectable rise in the levels of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP). Millimolar concentrations of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP, which stimulate corticosterone synthesis, also activate kinase activity and steroidogenesis in a sigmoid concentration-response manner. The process of phosphorylation activated by corticotropin, cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP is not inhibited by cycloheximide or actinomyin D. It is therefore proposed that the hormonal responses mediated by cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP are via the protein kinase enzymatic steps, and the inhibitory effect of cycloheximide and actinomycin D in corticotropin-stimulated steroidogenesis follows this step. In conjuction with our previous observations that the biosynthetic steps from (20S)-20-hydroxycholesterol to corticosterone are neither inhibited by cycloheximide nor affected by cyclic GMP, it is inferred that the rate-limiting step of adrenal steroidogenesis is the transformation of cholesterol to (20S)-20hydroxycholesterol and this very step is regulated by cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP. Of further significance are the findings that micromolar cincentrations of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP, which do not stimulate steroidogenesis, effectively stimulate protein kinase activity in a concentration-dependent manner. It is therefore concluded that all cyclic-nucleotide-dependent protein kinase activities of the cell are not necessarily related to steroidogenesis.
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PMID:Metabolic regulation of steroidogenesis in isolated adrenal cells of rat. Relationship of adrenocorticotropin-, adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-and guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-stimulated steroidogenesis with the activation of protein kinase. 18 47

In previous studies cadmium chloride (CdCl2) nonlethally inhibited Y-1 mouse adrenal tumor cell 20-dihydroxyprogesterone (20DHP) secretion, affecting unstimulated and stimulated steroidogenic pathway sites differently. In addition, dibutyryl cAMP-stimulated 20DHP secretion was unaffected by CdCl2, while the site of the unstimulated effect was indirectly shown to involve steps between endogenous cholesterol utilization and 20-hydroxycholesterol association with mitochondrial cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme. In the present study we determined CdCl2 effects on plasma membrane sites preceding pre-dbcAMP-stimulation of 20DHP secretion. Y-1 cells were incubated 0.5 h in medium with or without cadmium (using the concentration that inhibited adrenocorticotropin- (ACTH)-stimulated steroid secretion by 50%) together with exogenously added maximally stimulating concentrations of ACTH, cholera toxin, forskolin, or adenosine triphosphate. Cholera toxin, forskolin and ATP bypass specific plasma membrane sites involved in the synthesis of intracellular cAMP and activate the steroid hormone biosynthetic pathway. Cadmium effects on ACTH-stimulated endogenous cAMP secretion were also examined. CdCl2 significantly reduced Y-1 cell 20DHP secretion following exposure to ACTH, cholera toxin, forskolin, and ATP; it also significantly decreased endogenous cAMP secretion into culture medium. These data may be interpreted to suggest that CdCl2 altered Y-1 cell regulation of adenyl cyclase activity, which reduced cAMP-activated cholesterol uptake by mitochondria as a consequence.
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PMID:Modulation of adrenal cell functions by cadmium salts: 3. Sites affected by CdCl2 during stimulated steroid synthesis. 807 21