title: Serum uncouples elevation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentration from cyclic adenosine monophosphate dependent morphological changes exhibited by cultured pituicytes.
abstract: Cultured pituicytes (neurohypophysial astrocytes) are normally flat amorphous cells when incubated (90 min) in a HEPES balanced salt solution (HBSS) but become stellate when incubated in HBSS supplemented with forskolin. This stellation process is attenuated by serum (0.5% vol/vol). The experiments described here were designed to determine whether serum attenuates stellation by modulation of the intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentration or some other mechanism. It was observed that the effect of serum on forskolin-induced stellation was not affected by pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml) and that serum also inhibited stellation induced by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX; 100 microM). Further, serum inhibited stellation induced by the membrane permeable cAMP analog 8-bromo cAMP (150 microM). These results indicate that although an increase of intracellular cAMP concentration is necessary for pituicyte stellation, an increase of intracellular cAMP concentration may be decoupled from stellation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and The Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Ramsell
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cobbett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002477:Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D000242:Cyclic AMP