Masaki Hiraiwa

Stimulation of prostaglandin E2 production by phorbol esters and epidermal growth factor in porcine thyroid cells

Effects of phorbol esters and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on prostaglandin E2 production by cultured porcine thyroid cells were examined. Both phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and EGF stimulated prostaglandin E2 production by the cells in dose related fashion. PMA stimulated prostaglandin E2 production over fifty-fold with the dose of 10(-7) M compared with control. EGF (10(-7) M) also stimulated it about ten-fold. The ED50 values of PMA and EGF were respectively around 1 X 10(-9) M and 5 X 10(-10) M. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), however, did not stimulate prostaglandin E2 production from 1 to 24-h incubation. The release of radioactivity from [3H]-arachidonic acid prelabeled cells was also stimulated by PMA and EGF, but not by TSH. These results indicate that both PMA and EGF are potent stimulators of prostaglandin E2 production, associated with the activity to stimulate arachidonic acid release in porcine thyroid cells.

Phorbol esters modulate cyclic AMP accumulation in porcine thyroid cells

In cultured porcine thyroid cells, during 60 min incubation phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) had no effect on basal cyclic AMP accumulation and slightly stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation evoked by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) or forskolin. Cholera toxin-induced cyclic AMP accumulation was significantly stimulated by PMA. On the other hand, cyclic AMP accumulation evoked by prostaglandin E1 or E2 (PGE1 or PGE2) was markedly depressed by simultaneous addition of PMA. These opposing effects of PMA on cyclic AMP accumulation evoked by PGE and cholera toxin were observed in a dose-related fashion, with half-maximal effect of around 10(-9) M in either case. The almost same effects of PMA on cyclic AMP accumulation in basal and stimulated conditions were also observed in freshly prepared thyroid cells. The present study was performed in the presence of phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-iso-butyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), indicating that PMA affected adenylate cyclase activity. Therefore, it is suggested that PMA may modulate the production of cyclic AMP in response to different stimuli, possibly by affecting several sites in the adenylate cyclase complex in thyroid cells.

Inhibition by protein kinase-C inhibitor and cycloheximide of phorbol ester- and epidermal growth factor-induced arachidonic acid metabolism in cultured porcine thyroid cells

In an attempt to elucidate possible mechanism(s) for stimulated arachidonic acid metabolism by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in porcine thyroid cells, we examined the effects of protein kinase inhibitors, isoquinolinesulfonamide derivatives (H-7 and HA-1004), and cycloheximide. The production of PGE2 stimulated by either PMA or EGF was strongly inhibited by H-7, with an ID50 value of approximately 20 to 25 mumol/L in each case, as well as by cycloheximide, with an ID50 value of less than 0.5 micrograms/mL in each case. In contrast, 100 mumol/L of HA-1004 showed less inhibition of PGE2 production provocated by either PMA or EGF. On the other hand, PGE2 production in basal or stimulated condition by exogenously added arachidonic acid, was inhibited to an even lesser extent by both H-7 and cycloheximide. The EGF- and PMA-stimulated release of 3H-arachidonic acid from the cells was also strongly inhibited by H-7 and cycloheximide. These results suggest an induction of synthesis of some proteins responsible for the release of arachidonic acid, which might be attributed to protein kinase-C activation in arachidonic acid metabolism stimulated by PMA or EGF. Moreover, PGE2 production was potently induced by PMA and slightly by EGF in the cyclooxygenase-inactivated cells by acetyl salicylate pretreatment, which also suggests that both agents might induce the synthesis of cyclooxygenase in cultured porcine thyroid cells, although we did not measure its activity.

Effects of inorganic iodide, epidermal growth factor and phorbol ester on hormone synthesis by porcine thyroid follicles cultured in suspension

Porcine thyroid follicles cultured in suspension for 96 h synthesized and secreted thyroid hormones in the presence of thyrotropin (TSH). The secretion of newly synthesized hormones was assessed by determining the contents of thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) in the media and by paperchromatographic analysis of 125I-labelled hormones in the media where the follicles were cultured in the presence and absence of inhibitors of hormone synthesis. The hormone synthesis and secretion was modified by exogenously added NaI (0.1-100 microM). The maximal response was obtained at 1 microM. Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) activity in the cultured follicles with TSH for 96 h was dose-dependently inhibited by NaI. One hundred microM of NaI completely inhibited TSH-induced TPO activity. Moreover, both epidermal growth factor (EGF: 10(-9) and 10(-8) M) and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA: 10(-8) and 10(-7) M) inhibited de novo hormone synthesis. An induction of TPO activity by TSH was also inhibited by either agent. These data provide direct evidences that thyroid hormone synthesis is regulated by NaI as well as TSH at least in part via regulation of TPO activity and also that both EGF and PMA are inhibitory on thyroid hormone formation.

Adenylate Cyclase System Responsive to Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) of Porcine Thyroid Cells in Primary Monolayer Culture

The TSH-responsive adenylate cyclase system was studied using porcine thyroid cells in a primary monolayer culture. Isolated porcine thyroid cells treated with collagenase were inoculated into 96 wells at the density of 5 X 10(4) viable cells/0.25 ml Ham F-12 containing 10% fetal bovine serum and cultured for 4 days in a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2. Adenylate cyclase activities in the cells treated or non-treated with protein synthesis inhibitor were assayed in Hanks/20 mM Hepes buffer (pH 7.4) containing 1% BSA, 1 mM IBMX and various stimulants at 37 degrees C for 30 or 60 min. The reaction was stopped by adding ice-cold TCA, and cAMP content in the extract was measured by radioimmunoassay after treatment with water-saturated ether. The cultured thyroid cells had an adenylate cyclase system responsive to TSH, cholera toxin and forskolin. TSH (50 mU/ml) stimulated the activity about eight fold over the basal activity. Cholera toxin (1 microgram/ml) and forskolin (100 microM), however, were much stronger activators of the adenylate cyclase system. In the cells pretreated with cyclo-heximide (5 micrograms/ml) up to 24 hours, cAMP formation by TSH was potentiated 200 approximately 170% compared to that in non-treated cells, suggesting a suppression of an inhibitory mechanism dependent upon new protein synthesis. In contrast, forskolin (100 microM)-stimulation was greatly reduced to 30% of the control after 24-hour treatment. Cholera toxin (1 microgram/ml)-stimulation was significantly lessened or slightly reduced by the treatment. Although the ability of forskolin to act synergistically with TSH or cholera toxin was observed in non-treated cells, it was clearly unaffected and demonstrated in the cells treated with protein synthesis inhibitor. The mechanism(s) and site(s) of forskolin action still remain unclear. However, these observations are compatible with a two-site model of forskolin action. The direct activating site of forskolin appears to reside in a protein which is closely associated with the catalytic unit of adenylate cyclase system and has a relatively shorter half-life than other components of the system. The potential action of forskolin may reside in a more stable complex of an activated stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding component and catalytic unit of the adenylate cyclase system. Based on these results, it is likely that the primary monolayer culture of porcine thyroid cells is a good model to investigate the adenylate cyclase system in the thyroid, and that forskolin may potentiate the TSH-mediated stimulation of adenylate cyclase.