Specific binding sites for ovine prolactin in three amphibian cell lines

Established cell lines (TB-6c and TB-M) obtained by continuous culture of epithelial cells from toad Bufo marinus urinary bladder, which, in culture, maintained a high degree of functional differentiation, exhibited a significant number of high-affinity (KA = 1-2 X 10(10) M-1) binding sites detected both with radioiodinated (125I) ovine prolactin (oPRL) and human growth hormone (hGH). Binding capacity was higher in the case of TB-6c cells (7,573 +/- 581 sites/cell) than with the TB-M cells (1,160 +/- 87). Similarly, binding sites for oPRL were characterized on Xenopus laevis kidney-derived cell line A6. With oPRL used both as tracer and standard, significant cross-reaction was observed with hGH, less with human or rat prolactin (PRL), and none with human chorionic somatomammotropin, bovine growth hormone, and rat luteinizing hormone or follicle-stimulating hormones. B. marinus pituitary extracts completely displaced the binding of 125I-oPRL to toad bladder binding sites. This finding of specific sites for PRL on amphibian bladder and kidney cells confirms that PRL exerts specific biological actions for the control of electrolyte and water metabolism in the amphibians.