Cyclic AMP as a second messenger for prorenin release from human decidual cells

The possible roles of cyclic AMP and protein kinase C in the release of renin from human decidual cells were investigated by examining renin release from monolayers of decidual cells exposed for 72 h to agents that increase intracellular cAMP or activate protein kinase C. Dibutyryl cAMP (10-1000 microM caused a dose-dependent stimulation of renin release after a 24-h exposure. Maximal stimulation, 410 per cent greater than that of control cells, occurred at 72 h, and 98 per cent of the renin released into the medium was in the form of prorenin. Forskolin (10-1000 microM) and cholera toxin (CT. 20-1000 ng/ml), both of which stimulate adenyl cyclase, also stimulated prorenin release. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), an activator of protein kinase C, had little effect on basal prorenin release at 100 nM but potentiated the stimulation of prorenin release by cAMP and CT. The effects on prorenin release were paralleled by stimulation of active renin release. The results of this study therefore implicate cAMP and protein kinase C in the regulation of prorenin release from decidual cells and suggest that prorenin release from the decidua and other tissues is regulated by the same second messengers.