In vitro study on proopiomelanocortin messenger RNA levels in cultured rat anterior pituitary cells

Expression of genes related to corticotropin production and glucocorticoid feedback in corticotroph adenomas of dogs with Cushing's disease

Cushing's disease caused by pituitary corticotroph adenoma is a common endocrine disease in dogs. A characteristic biochemical feature of corticotroph adenomas is their relative resistance to negative feedback by glucocorticoids. In this study, we examined gene expression related to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production and secretion, and the negative feedback by glucocorticoids in canine corticotroph adenoma. We used resected corticotroph adenomas from 10 dogs with Cushing's disease. In order to investigate the alteration of gene expression between corticotroph adenoma and normal corticotrophic cells, ACTH-positive cells in the anterior lobe were microdissected using a laser-capture microdissection system, and mRNA levels of proopiomelanocortin (POMC), corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), and 11 beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11HSD) type 1 and type 2 were determined using real-time RT-PCR. POMC, CRHR1, and 11HSD2 mRNA levels in corticotroph adenoma were greater than those in normal corticotrophic cells (POMC, 5.5-fold; CRHR1, 4.9-fold; 11HSD2, 4.2-fold, P<0.01, respectively). MR and 11HSD1 mRNA levels in corticotroph adenoma were lower than those in normal corticotrophic cells (MR, 2.2-fold; 11HSD1, 2.9-fold, P<0.01, respectively). GR mRNA levels did not differ between corticotroph adenoma and normal corticotrophic cells. Our results may help to understand the increased ACTH production and the resistance to negative feedback suppression by glucocorticoids in canine corticotroph adenomas. These changes in gene expression may have a role in the growth of canine corticotroph adenoma, and help elucidate the pathophysiology of dogs with Cushing's disease.

Food restriction enhances endogenous and corticotropin-induced plasma elevations of free but not total corticosterone throughout life in rats

Chronic food restriction (FR), which retards many aging processes, enhances the endogenous diurnal peak of plasma total corticosterone (B) in young rats. Although the FR-dependent enhancement of total B disappears in aged rats, increased levels of the bioavailable fraction, free B, appear to be maintained. In young rats, we previously found that the FR-induced increase in the diurnal peak of total B is associated with increased adrenal response to corticotropin, also known as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Here we show that the FR-enhanced adrenal response of total B to ACTH disappears with age but that the enhanced response of free B is maintained. We measured the endogenous diurnal peak and the response to ACTH of total and free B in 10-, 16-, and 22-month-old ad-libitum fed and FR male Fischer 344 rats in the afternoon, when plasma B peaks. At 10 and 16 months, FR rats showed enhanced total plasma B responses to ACTH relative to ad-libitum fed rats, but not at 22 months. By contrast, the response of free B to ACTH was enhanced by FR at all ages. The effect of FR on patterns of endogenous total and free diurnal B in these three age groups paralleled the ACTH-response data. The enhanced adrenocortical response of FR rats to ACTH does not reflect an increased expression of ACTH-receptor (ACTH-R) mRNA, because ACTH-R mRNA/microg adrenal RNA and ACTH-R mRNA/mg adrenal weight did not differ between ad-libitum fed and FR rats at any age.

Glucocorticoid regulation of corticotropin-releasing factor1 receptor expression in pituitary-derived AtT-20 cells

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors represent one of the primary sites for negative feedback of the pituitary by adrenocortical glucocorticoid hormones; however, the molecular mechanisms involved have yet to be elucidated. The present study examines the mechanisms by which glucocorticoids regulate CRF-R1 expression in the pituitary cell line, AtT-20. Treatment of these cells with dexamethasone resulted in a concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of CRF-R1 mRNA that was significant by 1 hr and maximal after 4 hr. Levels of CRF-R1 mRNA then returned to control levels after 24 hr. Similar changes were observed when the cells were treated with corticosterone. Pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA was also decreased after dexamethasone pretreatment; however, the time course was much slower with a significant effect only detected after 6 hr. Further analysis of the mechanisms that mediate glucocorticoid regulation of CRF-R1 mRNA was conducted These studies demonstrated that glucocorticoid incubation significantly decreases the rate of CRF-R1 gene transcription, as determined by nuclear run-on analysis. In addition, the result demonstrate that glucocorticoid incubation significantly decreases CRF-R1 mRNA stability by approximately 50%. The down-regulation of CRF-R1 mRNA was dependent on de novo protein synthesis, as it was blocked by pretreatment with cycloheximide. This represents a novel mechanism for glucocorticoid negative feedback regulation of CRF-R1 expression.

The role of intracellular messengers in adrenocorticotropin secretion in vitro

Adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), an opiomelanocortin peptide, is secreted from anterior pituitary corticotrophs upon stimulation with corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), arginine vasopressin (AVP) and several other neuropeptides. CRH, the most potent secretagogue of ACTH, stimulates ACTH secretion and biosynthesis by increasing the production of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) within corticotrophs. AVP, which is a weak secretagogue of ACTH but strongly potentiates CRH-stimulated ACTH secretion, operates through the phosphatidylinositol (PI) transduction pathway. Both CRH and AVP increase cytosolic free [Ca2+] within normal corticotrophs indicating a role for Ca2+ in ACTH secretion. Glucocorticoids inhibit ACTH synthesis by suppressing transcription of the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene and attenuate ACTH release by decreasing cAMP accumulation stimulated by CRH. This review focuses on the roles of these intracellular messengers in ACTH secretion from normal anterior pituitary cells in vitro, and discusses the possible interactions between the cAMP, calcium and PI transduction pathways. Future areas of research are suggested such as identification of protein substrates of cAMP-dependent and Ca2(+)-dependent kinases within normal corticotrophs and evaluation of their role in ACTH biosynthesis and secretion.