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Ovine growth hormone (1 mug/ml) antagonized the lipolytic action of epinephrine (0.25 mug/ml) in segments of adipose tissue obtained from hypophysectomized rats, but a lag period of about 10 min was required. When added simultaneously with epinephrine, growth hormone neither reduced the maximal accumulation of cyclic AMP which occurred at 3 min nor accelerated the return to basal levels. Only when tissues were exposed to epinephrine 15 min after preincubation with growth hormone was cyclic AMP accumulation compromised. Growth hormone also produced a delayed increase of about 20% in the activity of a low Km cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase, which might have contributed to the decrease in cyclic AMP accumulation. The increase in phosphodiesterase activity probably did not account for the antilipolytic effect, however, since antilipolysis was evident before the increase in phosphodiesterase activity could be detected. The antilipolytic effects of growth hormone similarly could not be attributed to the decrease in cyclic AMP concentrations, for when added simultaneously with epinephrine the antilipolytic effects did not occur until after the evanescent changes in cyclic AMP had passed. Growth hormone added simultaneously with epinephrine or 30 min later significantly decreased the activity of protein kinase assayed in the absence of exogenous cyclic AMP, but did not change total protein kinase activity as measured in the presence of a saturating concentration of cyclic AMP. This effect of growth hormone was evident as early as 3 min after addition of the hormone and may at least partially account for the antilipolytic effect.

Three different insulin-like effects of growth hormone were studied in segments of adipose tissue obtained from hypophysectomized rats. The onset of each response was preceded by a characteristic lag period: antilipolysis was seen only after a 10--15 minute exposure to growth hormone; stimulation of glucose oxidation was significant 20 minutes after exposure to growth hormone and increased leucine oxidation was seen only after 30 minutes. Each of the responses was measurable without a detectable delay when the tissues were exposed to hormone during a prior incubation period. Accelerated leucine oxidation was detected when 0.01 microgram/ml growth hormone was present in the incubation medium; the other responses required a minimum of 0.1 microgram/ml. Inhibitors of protein synthesis of concentrations which decreased the incorporation of 14C leucine into protein by 99% had no effect on either the antilipolytic action of growth hormone or the stimulatory action on glucose oxidation, but abolished the acceleration of leucine oxidation. In contrast to findings in diaphragm muscle, theophylline was without effect on any of the insulin-like actions of growth hormone in adipose tissue, even though it decreased the basal rate of glucose and leucine oxidation.