Renal cAMP and 1,25(OH)2D3 synthesis in estrogen-treated chick embryos and hens

Onset of sexual maturity in female chickens or administration of estrogen to mature males or to juveniles of either sex results in increased parathyroid hormone (PTH)-dependent adenylate cyclase activity and increased 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1-hydroxylase activity in kidney. The relationship between estrogen-mediated alterations of these two enzyme systems was investigated in embryonic and mature, egg-laying chickens treated in vivo with 17 beta-estradiol (E2). Basal and PTH- and forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in kidney plasma membrane preparations was not affected by E2 treatment of 19-day-old chick embryos or of 41-wk-old egg-laying females. High, possibly maximal, levels of catalytic activity in control embryos and hens may have precluded further stimulation by E2. In contrast, E2 significantly enhanced 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1-hydroxylase activity of embryonic kidney up to 10-fold (P less than 0.005). In mature females, E2 caused cessation of egg laying accompanied by a significant reduction (P less than 0.005) of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1-hydroxylase activity. These results indicate that the PTH-dependent adenylate cyclase and the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1-hydroxylase systems of avian kidney can be regulated independently and suggest that factors in addition to estrogen are involved in their regulation.