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Endocrinology Vol. 139, No. 12 4765-4771
Copyright © 1998 by The Endocrine Society


ARTICLES

Calcium Ion as a Second Messenger for o-Nitrophenylsulfenyl-Adrenocorticotropin (NPS-ACTH) and ACTH in Bovine Adrenal Steroidogenesis1

Takeshi Yamazaki, Tetsuya Kimoto, Kaori Higuchi, Yoshihiro Ohta2, Suguru Kawato and Shiro Kominami

Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences (T.Y., K.H., S.K.), Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 739, Japan; Department of Biophysics and Life Sciences (T.K., Y.O., S.K.), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo at Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Takeshi Yamazaki or Shiro Kominami, Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 739, Japan. E-mail: takey{at}ipc.hiroshima-u.ac.jp


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
o-Nitrophenyl sulfenyl-modified ACTH (NPS-ACTH) stimulated steroidogenesis acutely in bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells without increase in cellular cAMP synthesis. Application of NPS-ACTH to the cultured cells induced Ca2+ signals in individual cells as detected by video-enhanced microscopic fluorescence measurements. The percentage of Ca2+ signaling cells corresponded well with the increase of steroidogenesis induced by NPS-ACTH below 1 nM. Treatment of the cells with nicardipine, a Ca2+ channel blocker, suppressed the Ca2+ signals except for the transient increase just after the addition of NPS-ACTH and also blocked completely the stimulative effect on the steroidogenesis of NPS-ACTH below 1 nM. At a dosage of NPS-ACTH higher than 10 nM, the stimulative effect of steroidogenesis was partly suppressed by nicardipine and also by AA-861, a lipoxygenase inhibitor. The action of NPS-ACTH might be mediated by both Ca2+ and lipoxygenase metabolite(s) of arachidonic acid as dual second messengers. The effect of ACTH in pM range on the steroidogenesis was suppressed completely by the treatment with nicardipine and AA-861 at the same time, indicating that the action was mediated by both Ca2+ and the lipoxygenase metabolite(s) but not by cAMP. cAMP plays a significant role as a second messenger for ACTH action only at ACTH concentrations greater than 10 pM.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
GLUCOCORTICOID synthesis in adrenal glands is mainly regulated by ACTH. ACTH acutely stimulates intracellular transport of cholesterol to mitochondrial inner membrane within a few minutes, which is the rate-determining step in overall steroidogenesis of the cells (1, 2). cAMP is one of the second messengers for the action of ACTH because cAMP synthesis in the adrenal cells was stimulated by pharmacological concentrations of ACTH (>100 pM) and the application of cAMP analogs activates adrenal steroidogenesis (3). ACTH modified at a tryptophan residue with o-nitrophenyl sulfenyl chloride, NPS-ACTH, stimulates rat, mouse, and bovine adrenal steroidogenesis without detectable increase of cellular cAMP level, although the dose required for the maximal stimulation was several hundred-times higher than that for ACTH (3, 4). It has been speculated, however, that cAMP is an essential mediator of NPS-ACTH action in Y-1 mouse adrenal tumor cell line because steroidogenic activity in A-kinase- or adenylate cyclase- deficient mutants of the Y-1 cell lines was very weak even on stimulation by the NPS-ACTH (5). In contrast to the normal adrenal cells, cellular cAMP synthesis in the Y-1 cells was significantly stimulated by the application of NPS-ACTH (5). The second messenger system of NPS-ACTH in normal adrenal cells might be different from Y-1 cells and requires more detailed investigation.

Calcium ion, Ca2+, has been suggested to be a second messenger for ACTH action in adrenal fasciculata-reticularis cells because steroidogenesis of the cultured cells was stimulated by addition of Ca2+ in the medium both in the presence and absence of ACTH (6). Extracellular Ca2+ is required for binding of ACTH to its receptor and also for maximum stimulation of steroidogenesis (7). At low ACTH concentrations, Ca2+ influx via T-type Ca2+ channels might participate in the stimulation of steroidogenesis in bovine fasciculata cells (8, 9). Increase of cellular Ca2+, however, is barely detectable in ACTH-stimulated cells with conventional methods (10, 11). Recently, we have observed Ca2+ signals induced by 0.1–100 pM ACTH in individual cultured bovine adrenal fasciculata cells using a microscopic fluorescence measurement technique (12). This observation is strong evidence for a role for Ca2+ as a second messenger of ACTH action.

Physiological second messenger(s) for ACTH action had been discussed for a long time. Application in the pM range of ACTH stimulated steroidogenesis in fasciculata-reticularis cells without significant increase in cellular cAMP synthesis (3, 13, 14). We have reported that 15-lipoxygenase metabolite(s) of arachidonic acid is a second messenger for ACTH at the physiological condition because pM concentrations of ACTH-stimulated bovine adrenal 15-lipoxygenase activity, which corresponded well with the stimulation of the steroidogenesis and addition of 15-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HPETE), a 15-lipoxygenase metabolite of arachidonic acid, stimulated steroidogenic activity of the cells (14). The action of ACTH in bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells may be mediated by at least three messengers: cAMP, Ca2+, and the lipoxygenase metabolite(s). On the other hand, the second messenger system of NPS-ACTH is expected to be simpler because cAMP likely does not have a significant role in the action of the modified peptide.

In this report, we clarified the roles of Ca2+ and lipoxygenase metabolite(s) as second messengers for the acute action of NPS-ACTH on the steroidogenesis in cultured bovine adrenal fasciculata-reticularis cells. The relative importance of second messengers, i.e. cAMP, Ca2+ and lipoxygenase metabolite(s), in the acute stimulation by physiological concentrations of ACTH was also characterized.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Preparation of NPS-ACTH
ACTH (1–24, Cortrosyn, Daiichi Seiyaku, Tokyo, Japan) was modified by o-nitrophenylsulfenyl chloride at tryptophan-9 in the acidic condition, as reported previously (15). The synthesized NPS-ACTH was purified by reverse phase HPLC on a LiChrospher RP-18 column (5 µm, 250 x 4 mm, Merck), with a linear gradient of 20 min from 100% of solution A; 10% CH3CN, 0.3% CF3COOH, 89.7% H2O, to 69% dilution by solution B; 89% CH3CN, 2% CF3COOH, 9% H2O, at the flow rate, 1 ml/min. The NPS-ACTH and ACTH were eluted at 20 and 18 min after the injection, respectively, which were monitored by UV absorption at 280 nm. The eluted NPS-ACTH was lyophilized and dissolved in sterile water. The purity of the NPS-ACTH was confirmed by HPLC analysis and measurement of the absorption spectrum. NPS-ACTH concentration was estimated using an absorption coefficient of 4.1 mM-1 at 365 nm (16).

Cell culture, steroidogenic activity, and cAMP analysis
Fresh adrenal glands of Holstein-Friesian cows were obtained from a local slaughterhouse, and fasciculata-reticularis cells were isolated as described (17). Contamination of glomerulosa cells was less than 2% for each preparation because no aldosterone synthesis was detected in culture medium by specific RIA after incubation of the cells without addition of any inhibitors (18). Cells grown to confluence on a 24-well culture plate (Sumitomo Bakelite, Tokyo, Japan) were incubated with a fresh medium containing the pregnenolone metabolism inhibitors, 2 µM trilostane and 20 µM SU-10603 (kindly supplied by C. R. Jefcoate), and steroidogenic stimulators, i.e. ACTH, NPS-ACTH, or dibutyryl cAMP ((Bu)2cAMP, Boehringer Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany). Various inhibitors, i.e. 40 µM nicardipine (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO), and 50 µM AA-861 (Wako, Osaka, Japan) were added 15 min before beginning the incubation for metabolism of cholesterol to pregnenolone. After 2 h incubation of the cells under 5% CO2 at 38.5 C, accumulated pregnenolone in the medium was extracted with hexane and measured by specific RIA, as described previously (19). Cell morphology did not change during the 2 h incubation with the inhibitors.

For measurement of cAMP accumulation, the cells were incubated for 2 h with fresh medium containing 0.2 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (Sigma Chemical Co.). The cAMP accumulated in the cells was extracted with ethanol and analyzed with a Biotrak cAMP EIA system (Amersham International, Amersham, UK) as described (14).

Microscopic imaging of Ca2+ fluorescence and its analysis
For Ca2+ imaging, cells were grown in glass-bottom dishes coated with collagen. The cells were loaded for 1 min at 37 C with 5 µM Fura-2/AM (Dojin, Kumamoto, Japan) in the presence of 0.01% Triton X-100 in 1 ml of physiological salt solution (PSS) containing 120 mM NaCl, 4 mM KCl, 1.25 mM CaCl2, 1 mM NaHPO4, 0.5 mM MgSO4, 5 mM NaHCO3, 0.1% BSA, 0.1% glucose, and 10 mM HEPES (pH 7.4). After three washes with PSS, the cells were preincubated for 20 min with or without 40 µM nicardipine at 37 C. The glass-bottom dish was mounted on a video-enhanced fluorescence microscope as previously described (12). The cells were excited by 340 and 380 nm in the presence of various concentrations of NPS-ACTH, and fluorescence intensity was recorded on video tape. After digitizing the intensity of the recorded fluorescence, Ca2+ concentrations in individual cells were estimated from image analysis of fluorescence intensity ratio between excitation at 340 nm and 380 nm.

Other methods
Cellular protein content was determined with a BCA protein assay kit (Pierce, Rockford, IL). Data were statistically analyzed by Student’s t test, using the Microsoft Corp. Excel computer program.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Effects of NPS-ACTH on the steroidogenesis and cAMP synthesis
Steroidogenic activity of cultured bovine adrenal fasciculata-reticularis cells can be estimated from the accumulation of pregnenolone in the presence of trilostane and SU-10603, which are blockers of further metabolism by 3ß-hydroxy-steroid dehydrogenase/{Delta}5-{Delta}4-isomerase and cytochrome P45017{alpha}, lyase, respectively, because the pregnenolone formation is the rate-determining step in overall steroidogenesis (1, 2, 14). The acute stimulation of steroidogenesis was estimated from the accumulation of pregnenolone during a 2-h incubation after the application of NPS-ACTH or ACTH. The amounts of accumulated pregnenolone increased with the dose of NPS-ACTH as well as ACTH, and leveled off at a similar level (Fig. 1aGo). The concentration required for half-maximum stimulation (EC50) is about 1 nM for NPS-ACTH, which is a hundred times higher than that for ACTH (10 pM).



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Figure 1. Dose dependences of the activation of steroidogenesis and cAMP synthesis on the concentrations of NPS-ACTH and ACTH in bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells. The cultured cells were incubated for 2 h with various concentrations of NPS-ACTH (closed circles) or ACTH (open circles). Accumulated pregnenolone (a) and cAMP (b) were extracted and measured by RIA and enzyme immune assay, respectively, as described in Materials and Methods. Values are means of three separate experiments, performed in duplicate. Error bars indicate SD.

 
Stimulation of cellular cAMP synthesis by ACTH in the adrenal cells was estimated from the accumulation of cAMP during the 2-h incubation in the presence of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The ACTH concentration required for the stimulation of cAMP synthesis was more than 10 times higher than that for steroidogenesis as previously reported (3, 13, 14) (Fig. 1bGo). On the other hand, application of NPS-ACTH affected the cellular cAMP synthesis only slightly. No stimulation of cAMP synthesis was observed on addition of 1 nM NPS-ACTH, upon which steroidogenesis was stimulated to half maximal levels (Fig. 1bGo). Even on maximal stimulation of the steroidogenesis by 100 nM NPS-ACTH, cAMP accumulation was increased to only 5% of that in the presence of 1 nM ACTH. Similar dose-responses on cAMP accumulation and steroidogenesis induced by NPS-ACTH have been reported in rat and mouse adrenal cultured cells (3). The results indicate that increase of cellular cAMP is not essential for the stimulation of steroidogenesis by NPS-ACTH.

NPS-ACTH induced Ca2+ signaling
The effect of NPS-ACTH on the Ca2+ concentration in individual cells was analyzed by video enhanced microscopic fluorescence imaging. Application of NPS-ACTH induced typically three types of Ca2+ signals in individual cells, i.e. (a) series of Ca2+ spikes with a step-like Ca2+ elevation; (b) a step-like elevation of Ca2+ concentration; (c) series of Ca2+ spikes without Ca2+ elevation (Fig. 2Go, a–c, respectively). When the Ca2+ signals of 100–200 cells induced by 1 nM NPS-ACTH were analyzed in each experiment, signal types in the cells were found to constitute 63 ± 5%, 28 ± 4%, and 9 ± 2% of the relative population for (a), (b), and (c), respectively (mean of four separate experiments). The frequency of Ca2+ spikes was variable in individual cells (Fig. 2Go, a and c), but it did not show apparent correlation with NPS-ACTH concentration. The increase of the dosage of NPS-ACTH increased total population of Ca2+ signaling cells without affecting the signal height in individual cells. Similar tendency of Ca2+ signals was observed in the same cell system stimulated by 0.1–100 pM ACTH whose frequency and intensity were also independent on the dosage of ACTH (12). The dose-dependence of percentage of total number of Ca2+ signaling cells, (a) + (b) + (c), per number of monitored cells on NPS-ACTH concentration corresponded well to the curve for the stimulation of steroidogenesis up to 1 nM NPS-ACTH (Fig. 3Go). In the presence of 10 nM of NPS-ACTH, 95 ± 4% of cells show Ca2+ signals, but only 13 ± 1% in the absence of NPS-ACTH (mean of four separate experiments). It must be noted that the percentage of total Ca2+ signaling cells was almost saturated around 1 nM NPS-ACTH, while steroidogenesis was increased further with the increase of the peptide to 100 nM (Fig. 3Go). The action of NPS-ACTH above 1 nM might be mediated by other second messenger(s) beside Ca2+.



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Figure 2. NPS-ACTH induced Ca2+ signals in the individual cells. Ca2+ contents in individual bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells were measured by a video enhanced microscopic fluorescence technique as described in Materials and Methods. The vertical scale shows the ratio of fluorescence intensities of Fura-2 excited at 340 and 380 nm. The presence of 1 nM NPS-ACTH, indicated by lines in the figures, induced three types of Ca2+ signals in individual cells as described in the text (a–c). d, A typical Ca2+ signal in the cells pretreated with 40 µM nicardipine 20 min before the application of 1 nM NPS-ACTH.

 


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Figure 3. Dose dependences of the percentage of total number of Ca2+ signaling cells and activation of steroidogenesis in the cultured cells on NPS-ACTH concentration. The cells were incubated for 2 h with various concentrations of NPS-ACTH. Ca2+ contents of individual cells were measured as for Fig. 2Go. At each NPS-ACTH concentration, cellular Ca2+ contents of 138–208 cells were individually monitored and the percentage of total number of Ca2+ signaling cells per number of monitored cells was plotted (thick line). Pregnenolone accumulation was determined as Fig. 1Go (thin line). Values are means of three separate experiments. Error bars indicate SD.

 
Suppression of the action of NPS-ACTH and ACTH by Ca2+ channel blocker
When the cells were pretreated with nicardipine, a potent inhibitor of T- and L-type Ca2+ channels, the stimulative action of 0.1 and 1 nM NPS-ACTH on the steroidogenesis was completely suppressed (Fig. 4aGo), indicating the voltage-dependent Ca2+ influx might be essential for stimulative action of NPS-ACTH at these concentrations. The concentration of nicardipine required for the complete suppression of the stimulative effect of 1 nM NPS-ACTH was 40 µM in the culture medium containing 10% FCS. In the serum-free medium, the stimulation of steroidogenic activity was suppressed by 1 µM of nicardipine. The steroidogenic activity of the cells in the serum-free medium, however, was fluctuating in each experiment and a mean of the activities was about a half of that in the serum containing medium. Therefore, we used serum containing medium and 40 µM nicardipine to obtain clear results in this experiment. Because nicardipine affected neither nonstimulated nor 0.1 mM (Bu)2cAMP-stimulated steroidogenesis (data not shown), the voltage dependent Ca2+ influx might not be essential for the basal steroidogenesis and cAMP-induced stimulation. The NPS-ACTH-induced Ca2+ signals were also affected by the inhibitor. In the cells pretreated with nicardipine, the Ca2+ elevation of NPS-ACTH-induced (a) type Ca2+ signals disappeared within a few minutes although the inhibitor has only a slight effect on the quick rise in Ca2+ (Fig. 2dGo). Most of the Ca2+ signaling cells (90 ± 5%, mean of three separate experiments) showed Ca2+ increase only transiently upon the addition of 1 nM NPS-ACTH to the nicardipine pretreated cells. It can be concluded that the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels are responsible for the slow phase (>3 min) of Ca2+ signaling which is essential for the stimulatory action of NPS-ACTH in the steroidogenesis. When the cells were stimulated by 10 and 100 nM NPS-ACTH, nicardipine did not suppress the stimulative effect on steroidogenesis completely (Fig. 4aGo). The results indicate again that a second messenger(s) beside Ca2+ affects the steroidogenesis in the presence of NPS-ACTH above 10 nM.



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Figure 4. Effects of nicardipine on NPS-ACTH and ACTH-stimulated cellular steroidogenesis. Incubation of the cells for 2 h with various concentrations of NPS-ACTH (a) or ACTH (b) and the determination of pregnenolone production were carried out as described in Materials and Methods. Some cells were pretreated with 40 µM of nicardipine 15 min before the beginning of the 2 h incubation (closed circles). Values are means of three separate experiments, performed in duplicate. Error bars indicate SD. *, Significantly different from activity of nonstimulated cells (P < 0.01).

 
ACTH-induced stimulation of steroidogenesis was also inhibited by the nicardipine pretreatment (Fig. 4bGo). The inhibitor completely suppressed the stimulation in steroidogenesis induced by 1 and 10 pM of ACTH, indicating that the Ca2+ influx is essential for the action of ACTH at these concentrations. In the presence of concentrations of ACTH higher than 100 pM, the inhibitory action of nicardipine on the stimulated steroidogenesis was not complete.

Suppression of the action of NPS-ACTH and ACTH by lipoxygenase inhibitor
ACTH action on the steroidogenesis in bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells is mediated by 15-lipoxygenase metabolite(s) of arachidonic acid as a second messenger (14). The role of the metabolite(s) in the action of NPS-ACTH could be elucidated by treatment of the cells with AA-861, a lipoxygenase inhibitor. Addition of AA-861 had no effect on the steroidogenesis stimulated by 0.1 and 1 nM of NPS-ACTH but suppressed to half the stimulative effects by 10 and 100 nM NPS-ACTH (Fig. 5aGo). The role of 15-lipoxygenase pathway on the stimulation of steroidogenesis is significant only at higher NPS-ACTH concentrations, at which the percentage of total number of Ca2+ signaling cells has already leveled off (Fig. 3Go). The action of NPS-ACTH at 10 and 100 nM might be mediated by lipoxygenase metabolite(s) together with Ca2+. By contrast, the stimulative effect of ACTH on steroidogenesis was suppressed by AA-861 at any ACTH concentration (Fig. 5bGo). Stimulation by 1 pM ACTH was completely suppressed by the inhibitor. These results were consistent with a previous observation; 15-lipoxygenase activity was stimulated by pM concentrations of ACTH (14).



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Figure 5. Effects of AA-861 on NPS-ACTH and ACTH stimulated cellular steroidogenesis. Incubation of the cells for 2 h with various concentrations of NPS-ACTH (a) or ACTH (b), and the determination of pregnenolone production were carried out as described in Materials and Methods. Some cells were pretreated with 50 µM of AA-861 15 min before the beginning of the 2 h incubation (filled columns). Values are means of three separate experiments, performed in duplicate. Error bars indicate SD. *, Significantly different from activity without AA-861 (P < 0.05).

 
The inhibitory effect of nicardipine or AA-861 was not complete when the steroidogenesis was stimulated by high concentrations of NPS-ACTH or ACTH (Figs. 4Go and 5Go). The maximally stimulated steroidogenesis by 100 nM NPS-ACTH was completely suppressed by the coaddition of the inhibitors (Table 1Go). Because AA-861 did not affect 0.1 mM (Bu)2cAMP-stimulated steroidogenesis (14) as like as nicardipine, the data indicate that the second messengers for 100 nM NPS-ACTH were Ca2+ and lipoxygenase metabolite(s) but not cAMP. In the case of ACTH-stimulated steroidogenesis, the suppression induced by the coaddition of the inhibitors was not complete upon the addition of 1 nM ACTH. Because the ACTH at concentrations higher than 0.1 nM stimulated cellular cAMP synthesis significantly (Fig. 1bGo), the action of 1 nM of ACTH might be mediated by cAMP beside Ca2+ and lipoxygenase metabolite(s).


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Table 1. Effects of nicardipine and AA-861 on the steroidogenesis of bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells stimulated by NPS-ACTH or ACTH

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Application of NPS-ACTH hardly stimulated cellular cAMP synthesis in bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells (Fig. 1bGo). Stimulation of steroidogenesis by lower concentrations (<1 nM) of NPS-ACTH might be mediated by increase of cellular Ca2+ as a sole, or major, second messenger, because dose responses of the percentage of total number of Ca2+ signaling cells and the stimulation of steroidogenesis induced by NPS-ACTH were quite similar (Fig. 3Go). Under the above conditions, nicardipine completely blocked the stimulative action of NPS-ACTH on the steroidogenesis (Fig. 4aGo). Upon the addition of higher doses (>10 nM) of NPS-ACTH, the metabolite(s) of lipoxygenase activity might be important in stimulation of the steroidogenesis together with Ca2+, because the stimulation was partly suppressed by AA-861 (Fig. 5aGo). Although a slight increase of cAMP synthesis was observed upon the addition of 100 nM NPS-ACTH (Fig. 1bGo), the stimulation of steroidogenesis was completely suppressed by pretreatment of nicardipine and AA-861 at the same time (Table 1Go). Cellular cAMP can be concluded not to be essential in the acute action of NPS-ACTH at any concentration.

ACTH-induced acute stimulation of steroidogenesis is mediated by at least three second messengers, cAMP, Ca2+, and lipoxygenase metabolite(s), in bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells. Application in the pM range of ACTH stimulated both Ca2+ signals and 15-lipoxygenase activity, while increase of total cellular cAMP was too small to be detected by conventional methods (12, 13, 14). Essential roles of Ca2+ and the lipoxygenase metabolite(s) in the stimulative effect of ACTH on the steroidogenesis were confirmed by the experiments using nicardipine and AA-861, both of which inhibited the ACTH-induced stimulation without affecting basal steroidogenesis. It must be noted that 0.1 mM (Bu)2cAMP-stimulated steroidogenesis was not affected by either of the inhibitors, indicating that the stimulative action of ACTH at pM concentrations is not attributable to the increase in cellular cAMP. Although no increase of cellular cAMP was observed at 1 pM ACTH-stimulated condition, basal A-kinase activity might be essential for steroidogenesis, which has been indicated in A-kinase deficient adrenal tumor cells and in normal adrenal cells where an A-kinase inhibitor, H-89, suppressed the basal A-kinase activity (14, 20, 21). cAMP might be a second messenger in the action of ACTH at concentrations above 10 pM, at which a slight increase of cellular cAMP was observed (Fig. 1bGo). Upon the addition of pharmacological concentrations of ACTH (>100 pM), cellular cAMP synthesis was significantly increased, where the inhibitory effects of nicardipine and AA-861 on the steroidogenesis were incomplete (Table 1Go). cAMP might be a significant second messenger under these conditions, although Ca2+ and lipoxygenase metabolite(s) still have roles in the action. It has been reported for the chronic effect of ACTH in the same cell system that cAMP does not function as a sole intracellular mediator of induction of steroidogenic enzymes, even upon the application of very high concentrations of ACTH, 1 µM (22).

In the bovine fasciculata cells, voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels have been predicted to function in stimulation of steroidogenesis (13). Enyeart et al. (9) reported that T-type rather than L-type Ca2+ channels are required for ACTH-induced stimulation of steroidogenesis. They found with patch clamp experiments that T-type Ca2+ channels operate in ACTH action with an EC50 of 10.4 pM (8). The concentration of the EC50 is consistent with our previous observation that showed the percentage of Ca2+ signaling cells was increased by 0.1–100 pM of ACTH (12). Ca2+ is one of the major second messengers in angiotensin II or potassium-induced stimulation of aldosterone synthesis in adrenal glomerulosa cells (23). The T- and L-type Ca2+ channels in the bovine glomerulosa cells were also completely blocked by nicardipine, which abolished potassium-induced stimulation of aldosterone synthesis (24). The frequency of series of Ca2+ spikes in the glomerulosa cells, however, was significantly increased by the increase in concentration of angiotensin II, although that in fasciculata-reticularis cells was not correlated with the concentration of NPS-ACTH or ACTH (25). The Ca2+ signaling mechanism in fasciculata-reticularis cells, which was stimulated by ACTH or NPS-ACTH might not be the same as in the glomerulosa cells induced by angiotensin II and potassium.

The Ca2+ and 15-lipoxygenase metabolite(s) are second messenger for ACTH and NPS-ACTH induced stimulation in the bovine adrenal cells. Interaction of those two second messenger systems has been reported in various cells. Cellular Ca2+ signals were reported to activate phospholipase A2, which stimulated release of arachidonic acid in adrenal cells, and also to activate cytosolic 15-lipoxygenase activity in human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (26, 27). Addition of lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid has been reported to stimulate Ca2+ releases from mitochondria that were isolated from the bovine zonae fasciculata-reticularis and also from rat liver cells (28, 29). In the bovine fasciculata-reticularis cells, there is a possibility of cross-talk between Ca2+ signals and the lipoxygenase pathway in the ACTH-induced stimulation because the stimulation was inhibited by nicardipine and AA-861 at the same ACTH concentrations, indicating the Ca2+ and 15-lipoxygenase metabolite(s) function at the same time (Figs. 4bGo and 5bGo). On the other hand, NPS-ACTH-stimulated steroidogenesis was inhibited by nicardipine and AA-861 at different NPS-ACTH concentrations (Figs. 4aGo and 5aGo). These data might indicate Ca2+ and 15-lipoxygenase metabolite(s) stimulate steroidogenesis independently. The interaction between Ca2+ signals and the lipoxygenase pathway in the bovine fasciculata-reticularis steroidogenesis might not be simple and remain to be clarify.

Only one class of ACTH-receptor has been identified in adrenal fasciculata-reticularis cells (30, 31). NPS-ACTH might bind to the ACTH receptor because ACTH-induced cAMP synthesis was antagonized by NPS-ACTH (32, 33). Truncated ACTH, ACTH11–24, antagonized ACTH-induced cAMP synthesis in mouse ACTH receptor expressed in HeLa cells (34). The IC50 of the truncated ACTH was about 1 nM, similar to EC50 of NPS-ACTH for the stimulation of the steroidogenesis in this study. The ACTH11–24 could stimulate steroidogenic activity in rat adrenal cells (35). Because the NPS-ACTH is modified at Trp9 of ACTH1–24, the nitrophenyl sulfenyl residue might prevent binding of the amino-terminal region of ACTH to the specific site in the ACTH receptor. The remaining region of ACTH11–24 might stimulate steroidogenesis without increase of cAMP.

For investigation of the mechanism for Ca2+-mediated stimulation of steroidogenesis in the fasciculata-reticularis cells, ACTH-induced stimulation might not be suitable because the stimulative action of ACTH is mediated by not only Ca2+ but also other second messengers at any ACTH concentration. On the other hand, Ca2+ is a solo, or major, second messenger for the action of 1 nM NPS-ACTH at which steroidogenesis was stimulated to a half maximum level. The NPS-ACTH-induced Ca2+ signals were indistinguishable from those induced by ACTH in terms of both signal shape and intensity. Therefore, NPS-ACTH-stimulated cultured cells might be a suitable experimental system for investigating the mechanism of stimulation of steroidogenesis by Ca2+ signals. Further experiments on Ca2+-induced cellular responses are underway in our laboratory.


    Acknowledgments
 
We thank Professor C. R. Jefcoate, University of Wisconsin, for supplying pregnenolone metabolism blockers and antipregnenolone serum.


    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported, in part, by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan (09680623, Priority Area 09235223). Back

2 Present address: Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Faculty of Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo 184, Japan. Back

Received April 8, 1998.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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