title: Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) stimulates cyclic AMP formation as well as peptide output of cultured pituitary melanotrophs and AtT-20 corticotrophs.
abstract: The present study was aimed at investigating whether PACAP stimulates accumulation of cAMP, as well as hormonal secretion of homogeneous populations of pituitary proopiomelanocortin (POMC) cells, namely melanotrophs and AtT-20 corticotrophs. PACAP was shown to enhance cAMP accumulation in a dose-dependent fashion in both cell types (with EC50 values of approx. 10(-10) M) and elicited additive increases of cAMP production with CRF in melanotrophs, but not in corticotrophs. PACAP also stimulated dose-dependently the secretion of alpha-MSH and ACTH, with EC50 concentrations of about 10(-9) M. In melanotrophs, bromocriptine significantly depressed PACAP-induced cAMP formation and blunted by more than 90% stimulated alpha-MSH release. This study shows that (1) pituitary POMC cells did respond to PACAP by enhancing cAMP accumulation and elevating hormone secretion as well; (2) the effect of PACAP was additive with CRF on cAMP production in melanotrophs, but not in corticotrophs, while there was no additivity on peptide output from both cell types; (3) activation of dopamine receptors in melanotrophs dampened both cAMP formation and peptide secretion. These findings are consistent with PACAP playing a possible hypophysiotropic role in the regulation of pituitary POMC cell activity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie, URA CNRS 1446, Université L. Pasteur, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lutz-Bucher
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010907:Pituitary Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: C495403:Adcyap1 protein, rat; D009479:Neuropeptides; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D010907:Pituitary Hormones; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D000242:Cyclic AMP