Potassium and norepinephrine stimulate the efflux of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic GMP) from intact pineal glands. The postsynaptic beta-adrenergic receptor mediates the efflux of cyclic AMP. In contrast, the efflux of cyclic GMP requires calcium and intact nerve endings. It appears that sympathetic nerve endings may release cyclic GMP into the synaptic space.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗

PubMed1976

Catecholamine-stimulated cyclic GMP accumulation in the rat pineal: apparent presynaptic site of action.

Guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) increased 7-fold in rat pineal glands incubated in the presence of l-norepinephrine. This response consisted of two components-one was stereospecific and inhibited by alpha-adrenergic antagonists while the other was not stereospecific and not readily inhibited by antagonists. Although l-isoproterenol was more potent than l-norepinephrine it had less intrinsic activity and its action was not stereospecifc. The increase in cGMP caused by these catecholamines, unlike that of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), was dependent upon extracellular calcium. Ouabain and high levels of potassium produced a marked, calcium-dependent increase in pineal cGMP, without affecting cAMP. There was no effect of cholinergic agonists on cGMP. Surgical denervation markedly reduced the cGMP response to stimulation by l-norepinephrine, potassium, or ouabain. This was in contrast to the enhanced response of cAMP in denervated glands. The nonspecific increase in cGMP caused by l-isoproterenol, however, was not affected by denervation. These data demonstrate the existence of a calcium-dependent presynaptic mechanism for the generation of cGMP which may be mediated by an alpha-adrenergic-like receptor. In addition, the mechanisms regulating pineal cGMP appear to be physiologically distinct from those regulating cAMP.

Acetylcholine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Regulation of protein kinase in rat pineal: increased Vmax in supersensitive glands.

Protein kinase activity was examined in supernatants from super-sensitive and subsensitive rat pineal glands both in the presence and absence of added cAMP. After a 20 min exposure to 1-isoproterenol, in vivo or in organ culture, supersensitive pineals displayed a greater decrease in protein kinase activity (in the absence of added cAMP) than did subsensitive glands. Furthermore, exposure of rats to 24 h light, a procedure which produces a supersensitive response to beta-adrenergic stimulation, results in a 50% increase in protein kinase activity (with or without added cAMP) as compared to the activity in pineals obtained after 12 h darkness, when the glands are subsensitive. Kinetic analysis revealed a 50-100% increase in the Vmax for ATP, histone, and cAMP. This increase in protein kinase was not prevented by prior treatment of rats with cycloheximide. The diminished kinase activity in subsensitive glands did not appear to be due to an increase in the heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor. Protein kinase activity also increased (in the presence or absence of added cAMP) after noradrenergic input to the gland was reduced by denervation or depletion of neurotransmitter. Thus, pineal protein kinase may participate in the effects of beta-adrenergic agonists (e.g. the induction of serotonin N-acetyltransferase) and in the regulation of the sensitivity of the gland to beta-adrenergic stimulation.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗