Regulation of adrenal ornithine decarboxylase by adrenocorticotropic hormone and cyclic AMP

Adrenal ornithine decarboxylase activity was stimulated in a dose-related manner after administration of ACTH or dibutyryl ((6)N-2'-O-dibutyryl) cyclic AMP to hypophysectomized rats. Little effect was observed for 2 h, but striking increases in enzyme activity were observed 4 h after administration of these substances. Effects of ACTH and dibutyryl cyclic AMP were not secondary to stimulation of steroidogenesis, since hydrocortisone had no effect on adrenal ornithine decarboxylase although it did stimulate activity of the enzyme in the liver and kidney.ACTH, given subcutaneously to hypophysectomized rats, induced striking increases in adrenal cyclic AMP levels within 15-30 min with a fall towards the base line in 1 h. Increases in ornithine decarboxylase activity lag several hours after this endogenous cyclic AMP peak, in contrast to the stimulatin of steroidogenesis by the nucleotide that requires only 2-3 min. After graded doses of ACTH, increases in adrenal cyclic AMP levels at 30 min were paralleled by proportional increases in adrenal ornithine decarboxylase activity 4 h after hormone treatment. Whereas maximal levels of adrenal steroidogenesis have been observed at tissue cyclic AMP levels of 6 nmol/g. ACTH is capable of inducing increases in nucleotide levels up to 200 nmol/g or more. These high tissue levels of cyclic AMP, although unneccessary for maximal steroidogenesis, appear to stimulate adrenal ornithine decarboxylase activity. Several results in addition to the time lag in the stimulation of ornithine decarboxylase activity suggest a mechanism involving accumulation of the enzyme or some factor needed for its activity rather than direct activation of the enzyme by cyclic AMP. Thus, the addition of cyclic AMP directly to the ornithine decarboxylase assay mixture in vitro was without stimulatory effect. In addition, actinomycin D or cycloheximide in doses sufficient to block adrenal RNA and protein synthesis, respectively inhibited the stimulation of ornithine decarboxylase activity by ACTH in vivo. An adrenocortical cancer was found to maintain ornithine decarboxylase activity at very high levels, but did so at much lower cyclic AMP levels than those of ACTH-stimulated adrenals. It is concluded that ACTH stimulates adrenal ornithine decarboxylase activity and that this effect may be mediated by cyclic AMP. However, cyclic AMP be mediated by appear to be a determinant of the high level of enzyme activity found in adrenocortical cancer.