Hormone-stimulated glycogenolysis in isolated goldfish hepatocytes

Hepatocytes isolated from the liver of the common goldfish Carassius auratus L. with crude bacterial collagenase maintained ATP levels for at least 2 h. Glycogenolysis was maximally activated by 1 X 10(-6) M epinephrine and 5.8 X 10(-9) M glucagon. In liver cells incubated in calcium-free buffer containing 1 mM ethylene glycol-bis-(beta-aminoethylether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid, basal glycogenolysis was enhanced by the addition of 1-4 mM calcium but the elevation of cyclic AMP and glycogenolysis due to epinephrine was unaffected by calcium. The divalent cation ionophore A23187 did not alter basal or hormone-stimulated glycogenolysis. Isoproterenol was approximately as potent as epinephrine but phenylephrine was glycogenolytic only at very high concentrations. l-Propranolol competitively inhibited the increased glycogenolysis due to catecholamines but phentolamine was ineffective as a blocking agent. Isoproterenol and epinephrine stimulated glycogenolysis at lower concentrations than those required to elevate cyclic AMP accumulation. Phenylephrine was without effect on cyclic AMP. Propranolol competitively inhibited both epinephrine- and isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation, but phentolamine did not block either response. Catecholamine-stimulated glycogenolysis in goldfish liver is apparently a beta-adrenergic effect. However, low concentrations of epinephrine enhance glycogenolysis without affecting total cyclic AMP.