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Metabolism of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesteryl ester (CE) by cultured rat adrenal cells was studied. Addition of [3H]CE-HDL to cells pretreated with adrenocorticotrophin in lipoprotein poor media resulted in a time- and concentration-dependent accumulation of [3H]cholesteryl ester and production of [3H]cholesterol and [3H]corticosterone. HDL-CE metabolism could be described as the sum of a high affinity ([ HDL-cholesterol]1/2 max = 16 micrograms/ml) and low affinity ([ HDL-cholesterol]1/2 max greater than 70 micrograms/ml) process. [3H]Cholesterol was found both intracellularly and in the media. Accumulation of [3H]cholesteryl ester could not be attributed to uptake and re-esterification of unesterified cholesterol since addition of Sandoz 58-035, an inhibitor of acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase, did not prevent ester accumulation. Moreover, addition of chloroquine did not inhibit cholesteryl ester hydrolysis indicating that hydrolysis was not lysosomally mediated. Aminoglutethimide prevented conversion of [3H]CE-HDL to steroid hormones but did not inhibit [3H]cholesteryl ester uptake. Cellular accumulation of [3H] cholesteryl ester exceeded accumulation of 125I-apoproteins 5-fold at 1 h and 35-fold at 24 h indicating selective uptake of cholesteryl ester moiety. We conclude that rat adrenal cells possess a mechanism for selective uptake of HDL cholesteryl esters which provides substrate for steroidogenesis. These results constitute the first direct demonstration that cholesteryl esters in HDL can be used as steroidogenic substrate by the rat adrenal cortex.

We have solubilized adenylate cyclase in a relatively stable form from rat adrenal membranes. The solubilized enzyme elutes on a column of Sepharose 4BR as a distinct peak with a higher molecular weight than the soluble fractions which bind 125I-ACTH. Both the soluble and membrane bound enzymes are activated by NaF and Gpp(NH)p, and both have similar affinities for MgATP. While the membrane bound enzyme is activated similarly by either Mg2+ or Mn2+, the soluble enzyme is more fully activated by Mn2+. Pretreatment of adrenal membranes with NaF or Gpp(NH)p before the addition of detergent enhances recovery of soluble enzyme activity, while recovery of activity in the unsolubilized membrane pellet is unchanged. In contrast, addition of ACTH prevents solubilization of the enzyme and greatly increases its recovery in the pellet. This observation is consistent with the theory that action of the hormone on a receptor subunit leads to an association between the receptor and a catalytic subunit. Such an association might make it more difficult to remove the enzyme from the surrounding lipid matrix of the membrane.

Calcium ion is essential for normal stimulation of adrenal cortical adenylate cyclase by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Both ACTH and Ca2+ act to promote the activation of adenylate cyclase by guanine nucleotides such as guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate [Gpp(NH)p]. To define further the mechanisms by which Ca2+ and ACTH interact with guanine nucleotides, we have correlated the binding of [3H]Gpp(NH)p to adrenal membranes and solubilized membrane proteins with activation of membrane-bound and solubilized adenylate cyclase. Ca2+ increases both the rate of reversible nucleotide binding and the rate of adenylate cyclase activation by nucleotide. This effect is accompanied by the appearance of binding sites having an 8- to 10-fold higher affinity for [3H]Gpp(NH)p. In contrast to Ca2+, ACTH increases the rate of enzyme activation but has no significant effect on nucleotide binding. In Ca2+-depleted membranes, measured nucleotide binding is low, and ACTH has no effect on enzyme activation. Once nucleotide is initially bound, both divalent cations and hormone can promote the transition of the enzyme to an activated state. Mg2+ is more effective than Ca2+ in promoting this transition, while Ca2+ is more effective than Mg2+ in promoting initial nucleotide binding. When membranes containing bound [3H]Gpp(NH)p are solubilized with Lubrol PX, adenylate cyclase activity elutes on Sepharose 4B with an apparent molecular weight of 160,000. The major fraction containing bound nucleotide elutes with an apparent molecular weight of 40,000-50,000. Nucleotide bound to this fraction is increased by pretreatment of the membranes with Ca2+ but is not affected by pretreatment with ACTH. Nucleotide bound to solubilized membrane components dissociates after treatment with EDTA. These findings suggest that Ca2+ promotes the initial binding of Gpp(NH)p to a biologically effective site that may involve a guanine nucleotide regulatory protein. ACTH activates adenylate cyclase by promoting a step subsequent to the binding of guanine nucleotide.

Reduced extracellular Ca2+ is known to promote PTH secretion, while severe Mg2+ depletion has the opposite effect. We have correlated the effects of Mg2+ and Ca2+ on parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and cAMP accumulation by rat parathyroid tissues in vitro with the effects of these two metals on adenylate cyclase activity in broken membrane preparations. PTH secretion was maximal at 0.5 mM Ca2+, falling to low levels as the Ca2+ concentration was increased to 2.5 mM. Deletion of Mg2+ from the medium resulted in a marked decrease in PTH secretion at any given Ca2+ concentration. At a constant Ca2+ concentration of 1 mM, both PTH secretion and cAMP production rose to maximal rates as the Mg2+ concentration was increased from 0 to 2 mM. The adenylate cyclase of rat parathyroid membranes was stimulated by both GTP and guanyl-5'-yl-imidodiphosphate [Gpp(NH)p]. EDTA-treated membranes could not be stimulated by Gpp(NH)p. Repletion with Mg2+ was more effective than repletion with Ca2+ in restoring responsiveness to the guanine nucleotide. When membranes were maximally preactivated by Gpp(NH)p and then assayed in the presence of variable concentrations of metal ions, enzyme activity was directly inhibited by Ca2+ and stimulated by Mg2+. Adenylate cyclase sensitivity to Ca2+ inhibition was dependent upon the Mg2+ concentration; in the presence of 0.6 mM Mg2+ a 50% inhibition was produced by 0.05 mM Ca2+, while in the presence of 8 mM Mg2+ a 10-fold higher Ca2+ concentration was required for a similar inhibitory effect. The results suggest that Ca2+ may decrease PTH secretion at least in part by a direct inhibition of adenylate cyclase. Mg2+ may promote PTH secretion either by enhancing the activation of adenylate cyclase by endogenous guanine nucleotides or by competing with Ca2+ for binding to a distinct regulatory site on the enzyme.

To examine whether alterations in parathyroid adenylate cyclase might be associated with glandular hyperfunction, we compared enzyme activity in membranes from 7 normal glands with activity from 18 abnormal and 5 noninvolved glands from patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Compared with the normal glands, the specific enzyme activity after full stimulation with guanyl-5'yl imidodiphosphate was significantly decreased in both hyperplastic and noninvolved glands from the hyperparathyroid subjects. While the enzyme activity of all tissues could be suppressed by calcium, a twofold higher calcium concentration was required for comparable suppression of the enzyme from adenomas as compared with normal or noninvolved glands. Alterations in the adenylate cyclase complex of hyperplastic parathyroid glands may explain, in part, the elevated "set point" for calcium homeostasis in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Forskolin, a diterpene which directly stimulates adenylate cyclase, markedly stimulated cAMP production in intact rat parathyroid glands and dispersed cells from hyperplastic and adenomatous human parathyroid tissues. Stimulation of cAMP production in human parathyroid adenomas occurred as early as 2 min and continued for at least 2 h; furthermore, a dose-response relationship was observed, with a maximal 80-fold cAMP response occurring at 100 microM forskolin. When PTH secretion by rat or human parathyroid tissues was studied at low (0.5 mM) and high (2.5 mM) extracellular Ca2+ in either the presence or absence of forskolin, no significant stimulation by forskolin was observed at 15 min, 1 h, and 2 h. When 10 human parathyroid specimens were studied with varying concentrations of forskolin at 1 mM Ca2+, 6 failed to show stimulation of PTH secretion and 4 showed modest but detectable increases in PTH that did not appear dose-related. We conclude that (1) at low and high Ca2+ levels, marked stimulation of cAMP production by forskolin can occur without a corresponding increase in PTH secretion; (2) inhibition of PTH secretion by high extracellular Ca2+ levels continues unchanged despite stimulation of cAMP production by forskolin; and (3) at intermediate Ca2+ levels (1.0 mM), PTH secretion is affected either minimally or not at all by forskolin in human hyperparathyroid tissue preparations. The marked stimulation of parathyroid adenylate cyclase by forskolin without concomitant increases in PTH secretion in the majority of tissues suggests that the level of cAMP production is not a primary or sufficient determinant of hormone secretion.