Properties of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in normal and goitrous rat thyroid gland

Effect of retinoid status on alpha, beta and gamma retinoic acid receptor mRNA levels in various rat tissues

We have investigated the effects of retinoids, vitamin D and thyroid hormone on the levels of retinoic acid receptor (RAR)alpha, RAR beta and RAR gamma mRNAs in intact animals. Although vitamin A deficiency caused no significant changes in the levels of RAR alpha and RAR gamma mRNAs, the level of RAR beta transcripts was greatly decreased in various tissues of vitamin A-deficient rats, but was restored rapidly to a normal level after administration of retinoic acid. Retinol also restored the RAR beta mRNA level, but the magnitude and kinetics of the induction differed from those by retinoic acid. The use of specific inhibitors demonstrated that this autoregulation of RAR beta gene expression in vivo occurred at the transcriptional level. In addition, from these results it was postulated that the maintenance of the normal RAR beta mRNA levels seemed to require a threshold serum retinol concentration (about 25 micrograms/dl). Moreover, we found that administration of retinol and retinoic acid to normal rats caused the overexpression of RAR beta transcripts (2-15-fold) when compared with the control levels of RAR beta mRNA, although the levels of RAR alpha and RAR gamma mRNAs were not affected. Vitamin D and thyroid hormone did not modulate the levels of RAR transcripts. These findings clearly indicate the specific ligand regulation of RAR beta gene expression in intact animals. The altered levels of RAR beta according to retinoid status may affect retinoid-inducible gene expression.

Pairs of cyclic AMP analogs, that are specifically synergistic for type I and type II cAMP-dependent protein kinases, mimic thyrotropin effects on the function, differentiation expression and mitogenesis of dog thyroid cells

The role of the two different isozymes of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase is still unclear. We have investigated the potential roles for each isozyme in dog thyroid cells, a model in which the function, expression of differentiation and proliferation are positively regulated by thyrotropin acting through cyclic AMP. The dog thyroid contains both type I and type II cAMP-dependent protein kinases. These isozymes were selectively activated in vitro by type-I-directed and type-II-directed analog pairs. In thyroid slices, both type-I directed and type II-directed analog pairs synergistically activated thyroid hormone synthesis, as measured by incorporation of 131I into proteins and thyroid hormone secretion as determined by the release of butanol-extractable 131I. In primary cultures of dog thyroid cells both isozyme-directed analog pairs synergistically enhanced iodide trapping, a marker of differentiation, and DNA synthesis, as measured by the percentage of cells incorporating [3H]thymidine into their nuclei. However, DNA synthesis was more sensitive to type-I-directed pairs. The results demonstrate that both cAMP-dependent protein kinase isozymes can mediate the action of cAMP on function, differentiation expression and cell proliferation in dog thyroid cells.

Protein kinase patterns in hyperplastic rat thyroids and in human non-toxic nodular goitres

Patterns of cAMP-dependent protein kinases and cAMP-independent histone and casein kinases of hyperplastic rat thyroid glands and of human nodular non-toxic goitres have been analysed in two subcellular compartments, cytosol and particulate fraction. In hyperplastic rat glands the different compartmentalization of the two cAMP-dependent isoenzymes was preserved and the pattern of cAMP-independent protein kinases was not changed qualitatively, but the activities of the three classes of protein kinases were enhanced to different degrees: the highest increase was observed for the cAMP-dependent enzymes and the lowest for the cAMP-independent casein kinases. Analysis of individual peaks of cAMP-dependent kinases showed selective stimulation of the cytosolic Type II form and independent control of the Type I activity in the two subcellular compartments. Among cAMP-independent protein kinases only two histone kinase peaks were selectively enhanced; other kinase entities were changed to a lesser degree. During the involution of hyperplastic glands, a transient but differential enhancement of nearly all kinases was noted at first, which was followed later by a strong decrease, more or less rapid, of almost all kinase activities. In the regressed glands, neither the thyroid weight nor the pattern of different kinase entities corresponded to those of control, untreated glands, indicating that some of the protein kinase alterations in hyperplastic tissues are partly irreversible. In spite of great similarities, human and rat goitre tissues are not identical. The most important difference was the loss of compartmentalization of the cAMP-dependent isoenzymes in human tissue. The different ratios of the light and heavy peaks of cytosolic cAMP-independent histone kinases was the second characteristic which distinguished human and rat glands.