Pertussis toxin abolishes the inhibitory effects of prostaglandins E1, E2,I2 and F2α on hormone‐induced cAMP accumulation in cultured hepatocytes

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Abstract
Several prostaglandins inhibit the cAMP response to glucagon and β-adrenergic stimulation in hepatocytes. To probe the mechanism of this inhibition, we have examined in primary hepatocyte cultures how pretreatment with pertussis toxin (islet-activating protein) influences the ability of the cells to respond to hormones and prostaglandins. Pertussis toxin augmented the effects of glucagon, epinephrine and isoproterenol, and also markedly enhanced the cAMP response to prostaglandin E1 (PGE1). Furthermore, whereas PGE1, PGE2, PGI2 and PGF2α, attenuated the cAMP responses to glucagon in control cultures, this inhibition was abolished in cells pretreated with pertussis toxin. A more detailed comparison was made of the effects of PGE1 and PGF2α. In cells not treated with pertussis toxin, both these prostaglandins at high concentrations reduced the cAMP response to glucagon and isoproterenol by approximately 50%, but dose-effect curves showed that PGE1 was about 100-fold more potent as an inhibitor than PGF2α. Pertussis toxin abolished the inhibitory effects of PGE1 and PGF2α with almost identical time and dose requirements. The results obtained with PGE1, PGE2, PG1, and PGF2α suggest that prostaglandins of different series attenuate hormone-activable adenylate cyclase in hepatocytes through a common mechanism, dependent on the inhibitory GTP-binding protein.