Fibroblast defect in pseudohypoparathyroidism, type I: reduced activity of receptor-cyclase coupling protein

Erythrocytes of many patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism, type I (PHP-I), exhibit reduced activity of the N protein, a guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory component of hormone-sensitive adenylate cyclase. We compared N and adenylate cyclase activities and the accumulation of cAMP in fibroblasts propagated from skin biopsies of six normal subjects and seven PHP-I patients. N activities were reduced by approximately 40% in fibroblasts as well as erythrocytes of five PHP-I patients. N activities in fibroblasts from two PHP-I patients with normal erythrocyte N activities were within the normal range. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that N deficiency is generalized in tissues of most PHP-I patients and is the primary defect responsible for their resistance to metabolic effects of hormones that work by stimulating adenylate cyclase. Fibroblast N deficiency was not associated with decreases in hormone-stimulated adenylate cyclase or cAMP accumulation in fibroblasts, probably because these activities involve many potentially regulable cellular components in addition to the N protein.