STUDIES ON THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF VASOPRESSIN

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Abstract
The well-known ability of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and other neurohypophyseal hormones to increase re-versibly the permeability of the isolated amphibian bladder to water has been used as a measure of hormone action. It has been possible to show that this permeability change is not directly dependent upon the oxidative metabolism of the cell. Furthermore, a number of sulfhydryl reagents have been shown either to inhibit the effect of AVP or to prevent the reversibility change. The hormone is only effective if added to the serosal surface of the bladder, although it is thought that the permeability barrier of the bladder is at or near the mucosal surface of its epithelial cells. The sulfhydryl reagents, however, inhibit AVP action when added to either surface. If added in critical concentrations (10-4 to 10-5) to the mucosal surface, sulfhydryl reagents induce a change in permeability which is qualitatively similar to the effect of AVP (added to the serosal surface) but is irreversible. From these observations it has been concluded that one of the primary interactions between AVP and its receptor site in the bladder involves a disulfide-sulfhydryl interchange reaction.