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Human prion diseases, also called transmissible spongi-form encephalopathies, are a group of rare and inevitably fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Prion diseases are unique in that they occur as idiopathic (sporadic), familial, [...]

The challenge of 3T3-F442A fibroblasts with growth hormone led to both a decrease in the mobility on SDS/PAGE and activation of the PDE4A cyclic AMP-specific phosphodiesterase isoform PDE4A5. Activation was mediated by a JAK-2-dependent pathway coupled to the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and p70S6 kinase. Activation was not dependent on the ability of growth hormone to stimulate ERK2 or protein kinase C or any effect on transcription. Blockade of activation of murine PDE4A5 ablated the ability of growth hormone to decrease intracellular cAMP levels. Antisense depletion of murine PDE4A5 mimicked the ability of rolipram to enhance the growth hormone-stimulated differentiation of 3T3-F442A cells to adipocytes. It is suggested that activation of PDE4A5 by growth hormone serves as a brake on the differentiation processes.