scholarly journals Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) as a Growth Hormone (GH)-Releasing Factor in Grass Carp. I. Functional Coupling of Cyclic Adenosine 3′,5′-Monophosphate and Ca2+/Calmodulin-Dependent Signaling Pathways in PACAP-Induced GH Secretion and GH Gene Expression in Grass Carp Pituitary Cells

Endocrinology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 146 (12) ◽  
pp. 5407-5424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson O. L. Wong ◽  
Wensheng Li ◽  
Ching Yu Leung ◽  
Longfei Huo ◽  
Hong Zhou

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), a member of the glucagon/secretin peptide family, has been recently proposed to be the ancestral GH-releasing factor. Using grass carp as a model for bony fish, we examined the mechanisms for PACAP regulation of GH synthesis and secretion at the pituitary level. Nerve fibers with PACAP immunoreactivity were identified in the grass carp pituitary overlapping with the distribution of somatotrophs. At the somatotroph level, PACAP was shown to induce cAMP synthesis and Ca2+ entry through voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels (VSCC). In carp pituitary cells, PACAP but not vasoactive intestinal polypeptide increased GH release, GH content, total GH production, and steady-state GH mRNA levels. PACAP also enhanced GH mRNA stability, GH promoter activity, and nuclear expression of GH primary transcripts. Increasing cAMP levels, induction of Ca2+ entry, and activation of VSCC were all effective in elevating GH secretion and GH mRNA levels. PACAP-induced GH secretion and GH mRNA expression, however, were abolished by inhibiting adenylate cyclase and protein kinase A, removing extracellular Ca2+ or VSCC blockade, or inactivating calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II). Similar sensitivity to VSCC and CaM kinase II blockade was also observed by activating cAMP production as a trigger for GH release and GH gene expression. These results suggest that PACAP stimulates GH synthesis and secretion in grass carp pituitary cells through PAC1 receptors. These stimulatory actions probably are mediated by the adenylate cyclase/cAMP/protein kinase A pathway coupled to Ca2+ entry via VSCC and subsequent activation of CaM/CaM kinase II cascades.

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (6) ◽  
pp. E1750-E1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyan Wang ◽  
Mable M. S. Chu ◽  
Anderson O. L. Wong

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a potent growth hormone (GH)-releasing factor in lower vertebrates. However, its functional interactions with other GH regulators have not been fully characterized. In fish models, norepinephrine (NE) inhibits GH release at the pituitary cell level, but its effects on GH synthesis have yet to be determined. We examined adrenergic inhibition of PACAP-induced GH secretion and GH gene expression using grass carp pituitary cells as a cell model. Through activation of pituitary α2-adrenoreceptors, NE or the α2-agonist clonidine reduced both basal and PACAP-induced GH release and GH mRNA expression. In carp pituitary cells, clonidine also suppressed cAMP production and intracellular Ca2+ levels and blocked PACAP induction of these two second messenger signals. In GH3 cells transfected with a reporter carrying the grass carp GH promoter, PACAP stimulation increased GH promoter activity, and this stimulatory effect could be abolished by NE treatment. In parallel experiments, clonidine reduced GH primary transcript and GH promoter activity without affecting GH mRNA stability, and these inhibitory actions were mimicked by inhibiting adenylate cyclase (AC), blocking protein kinase A (PKA), removing extracellular Ca2+ in the culture medium, or inactivating L-type voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels (VSCC). Since our recent studies have shown that PACAP can induce GH secretion in carp pituitary cells through cAMP/PKA- and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent mechanisms, these results, taken together, suggest that α2-adrenergic stimulation in the carp pituitary may inhibit PACAP-induced GH release and GH gene transcription by blocking the AC/cAMP/PKA pathway and Ca2+ entry through L-type VSCC.


2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Zhou ◽  
Yonghua Jiang ◽  
Wendy K W Ko ◽  
Wensheng Li ◽  
Anderson O L Wong

Growth hormone (GH) is known to stimulate luteinizing hormone (LH) release via paracrine interactions between somatotrophs and gonadotrophs. However, it is unclear if LH can exert a reciprocal effect to modulate somatotroph functions. Here we examined the paracrine effects of LH on GH gene expression using grass carp pituitary cells as a cell model. LH receptors were identified in grass carp somatotrophs and their activation by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) increased ‘steady-state’ GH mRNA levels. Removal of endogenous LH by immunoneutralization using LH antiserum inhibited GH release and GH mRNA expression. GH secretagogues, including gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH), pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and apomorphine, were effective in elevating GH mRNA levels but these stimulatory actions were blocked by LH antiserum. In pituitary cells pretreated with actinomycin D, the half-life of GH mRNA was not affected by hCG but was enhanced by LH immunoneutralization. Treatment with LH antiserum also suppressed basal levels of mature GH mRNA and primary transcripts. hCG increased cAMP synthesis in carp pituitary cells and hCG-induced GH mRNA expression was mimicked by forskolin but suppressed by inhibiting adenylate cyclase and protein kinase A. Similarly, the stimulatory actions of hCG and forskolin on GH mRNA expression were blocked by inhibiting Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and MAP kinase (MAPK), including P42/44MAPK and P38 MAPK. These results suggest that LH is essential for the maintenance of GH release, GH gene expression, and somatotroph responsiveness to GH-releasing factors. The paracrine actions of LH on GH mRNA expression are mediated by a concurrent increase in GH gene transcription and GH mRNA turnover, probably through JAK2/MAPK coupled to the cAMP-dependent pathway.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (6) ◽  
pp. R1625-R1633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Klausen ◽  
Takeshi Tsuchiya ◽  
John P. Chang ◽  
Hamid R. Habibi

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is produced by the hypothalamus and stimulates the synthesis and secretion of gonadotropin hormones. In addition, GnRH also stimulates the production and secretion of growth hormone (GH) in some fish species and in humans with certain clinical disorders. In the goldfish pituitary, GH secretion and gene expression are regulated by two endogenous forms of GnRH known as salmon GnRH and chicken GnRH-II. It is well established that PKC mediates GnRH-stimulated GH secretion in the goldfish pituitary. In contrast, the signal transduction of GnRH-induced GH gene expression has not been elucidated in any model system. In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of novel and atypical PKC isoforms in the pituitary of a fish. Moreover, our results indicate that conventional PKCα is present selectively in GH-producing cells. Treatment of primary cultures of dispersed goldfish pituitary cells with PKC activators (phorbol ester or diacylglycerol analog) did not affect basal or GnRH-induced GH mRNA levels, and two different inhibitors of PKC (calphostin C and GF109203X) did not reduce the effects of GnRH on GH gene expression. Together, these results suggest that, in contrast to secretion, conventional and novel PKCs are not involved in GnRH-stimulated increases in GH mRNA levels in the goldfish pituitary. Instead, PD98059 inhibited GnRH-induced GH gene expression, suggesting that the ERK signaling pathway is involved. The results presented here provide novel insights into the functional specificity of GnRH-induced signaling and the regulation of GH gene expression.


Endocrinology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 145 (11) ◽  
pp. 5056-5067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longfei Huo ◽  
Eric K. Y. Lee ◽  
P. C. Leung ◽  
Anderson O. L. Wong

Abstract Calmodulin (CaM) is a Ca2+-binding protein essential for biological functions mediated through Ca2+-dependent mechanisms. In the goldfish, CaM is involved in the signaling events mediating pituitary hormone secretion induced by hypothalamic factors. However, the structural identity of goldfish CaM has not been established, and the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating CaM gene expression at the pituitary level are still unknown. Here we cloned the goldfish CaM and tested the hypothesis that pituitary expression of CaM transcripts can be the target of modulation by hypothalamic factors. Three goldfish CaM cDNAs, namely CaM-a, CaM-bS, and CaM-bL, were isolated by library screening. These cDNAs carry a 450-bp open reading frame encoding the same 149-amino acid CaM protein, the amino acid sequence of which is identical with that of mammals, birds, and amphibians and is highly homologous (≥90%) to that in invertebrates. In goldfish pituitary cells, activation of cAMP- or PKC-dependent pathways increased CaM mRNA levels, whereas the opposite was true for induction of Ca2+ entry. Basal levels of CaM mRNA was accentuated by GnRH and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide but suppressed by dopaminergic stimulation. Pharmacological studies using D1 and D2 analogs revealed that dopaminergic inhibition of CaM mRNA expression was mediated through pituitary D2 receptors. At the pituitary level, D2 activation was also effective in blocking GnRH- and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-stimulated CaM mRNA expression. As a whole, the present study has confirmed that the molecular structure of CaM is highly conserved, and its mRNA expression at the pituitary level can be regulated by interactions among hypothalamic factors.


Endocrinology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 146 (9) ◽  
pp. 3821-3835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longfei Huo ◽  
Guodong Fu ◽  
Xinyan Wang ◽  
Wendy K. W. Ko ◽  
Anderson O. L. Wong

Abstract Calmodulin (CaM), the Ca2+ sensor in living cells, is essential for biological functions mediated by Ca2+-dependent mechanisms. However, modulation of CaM gene expression at the pituitary level as a means to regulate pituitary hormone synthesis has not been characterized. In this study we examined the functional role of CaM in the feedback control of GH by IGF using grass carp pituitary cells as a cell model. To establish the structural identity of CaM expressed in the grass carp, a CaM cDNA, CaM-L, was isolated from the carp pituitary using 3′/5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The open reading frame of this cDNA encodes a 149-amino acid protein sharing the same primary structure with CaMs reported in mammals, birds, and amphibians. This CaM cDNA is phylogenetically related to the CaM I gene family, and its transcripts are ubiquitously expressed in the grass carp. In carp pituitary cells, IGF-I and IGF-II induced CaM mRNA expression with a concurrent drop in GH transcript levels. These stimulatory effects on CaM mRNA levels were not mimicked by insulin and appeared to be a direct consequence of IGF activation of CaM gene transcription without altering CaM transcript stability. CaM antagonism and inactivation of calcineurin blocked the inhibitory effects of IGF-I and IGF-II on GH gene expression, and CaM overexpression also suppressed the 5′ promoter activity of the grass carp GH gene. These results, as a whole, provide evidence for the first time that IGF feedback on GH gene expression is mediated by activation of CaM gene expression at the pituitary level.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (10) ◽  
pp. 5042-5059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kong Hung Sze ◽  
Hong Zhou ◽  
Yinhua Yang ◽  
Mulan He ◽  
Yonghua Jiang ◽  
...  

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) has been proposed to be the ancestral GHRH. Recently, using grass carp as a model for modern-day bony fish, we demonstrated that PACAP nerve fibers are present in close proximity to carp somatotrophs, and mammalian PACAPs can induce GH secretion in carp pituitary cells. To further examine the role of PACAP as a GH-releasing factor in fish, the structural identity of grass carp PACAP was established by molecular cloning. The newly cloned PACAP was found to be a single-copy gene and expressed in the brain but not other tissues. The mature peptides of PACAP, namely PACAP27 and PACAP38, were synthesized. As revealed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies, carp PACAP38 is composed of a flexible N terminal from His1 to Ile5, an extended central helix from Phe6 to Val26, and a short helical tail in the C terminal from Arg29 to Arg34. The C-terminal helix is located after a hinge region at Leu27 to Gly28 and is absent in the solution structures of PACAP27. The two forms of PACAPs were effective in elevating GH release and GH transcript expression in grass carp pituitary cells. These stimulatory effects occurred with parallel rises in cAMP and Ca2+ entry via voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels in carp somatotrophs. The present study represents the first report for solution structures of nonmammalian PACAPs and provides evidence that a brain-specific isoform of PACAP in fish can stimulate GH synthesis and release at the pituitary level, presumably by activating the appropriate postreceptor signaling mechanisms.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (6) ◽  
pp. R1815-R1821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Fabián Canosa ◽  
Norm Stacey ◽  
Richard Ector Peter

In goldfish, circulating LH and growth hormone (GH) levels surge at the time of ovulation. In the present study, changes in gene expression of salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone (sGnRH), chicken GnRH-II (cGnRH-II), somatostatin (SS) and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) were analyzed during temperature- and spawning substrate-induced ovulation in goldfish. The results demonstrated that increases in PACAP gene expression during ovulation are best correlated with the GH secretion profile. These results suggest that PACAP, instead of GnRH, is involved in the control of GH secretion during ovulation. Increases of two of the SS transcripts during ovulation are interpreted as the activation of a negative feedback mechanism triggered by high GH levels. The results showed a differential regulation of sGnRH and cGnRH-II gene expression during ovulation, suggesting that sGnRH controls LH secretion, whereas cGnRH-II correlates best with spawning behavior. This conclusion is further supported by the finding that nonovulated fish induced to perform spawning behavior by prostaglandin F2α treatment increased cGnRH-II expression in both forebrain and midbrain, but decreased sGnRH expression in the forebrain.


2006 ◽  
Vol 805 (1) ◽  
pp. 684-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUJIN SHUTO ◽  
ANIKÓ SOMOGYVÁRI-VIGH ◽  
SÁNDOR VIGH ◽  
ICHIJI WAKABAYASHI ◽  
AKIRA ARIMURA

1990 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Morita ◽  
K. Matsuo ◽  
M. Tsuruta ◽  
S. Leng ◽  
S. Yamashita ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We have previously demonstrated that retinoic acid (RA) as well as thyroid hormone stimulates GH gene expression. To clarify the relationship between the action of RA and thyroid hormone, pituitary-specific gene expression was investigated further in rat pituitary cells. Rat clonal pituitary cells, GH3, were treated with RA with or without tri-iodothyronine (T3) for up to 3 days. After treatment with 10–1000 nmol RA/1 with or without 0·1–10 nmol T3/1, medium was collected for radioimmunoassay and cells were subjected to RNA extraction, and GH and prolactin gene expression was analysed using 32P-labelled rat GH and rat prolactin cDNA probes respectively. The data demonstrated the dose–responsive manner of the stimulatory effects of RA and T3 on GH secretion with T3-depleted media. The action of RA was additive to that of T3 for GH secretion when maximum effective doses of RA or T3 were used. Using dot blot and Northern gel analysis, it was shown that RA increased GH mRNA levels in T3-depleted media, and that this action of RA was additive to that of T3 on the induction of GH mRNA levels. In contrast, neither RA nor T3 stimulated the secretion of prolactin and prolactin mRNA levels in these cells. Our results indicate that RA stimulates GH mRNA increment and GH secretion in T3-depleted media, and that the stimulatory effect of RA is additive to the maximum effective dose of T3. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 125, 251–256


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