alpha-Adrenergic regulation of enzymes of amino acid metabolism in primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes.

In primary cultures of rat hepatocytes, addition of dexamethasone (10 microM) plus glucagon (0.5 microM) caused several-fold increases in the activities of serine dehydratase (EC 4.2.1.13), tryptophan oxygenase (EC 1.13.11.11), and tyrosine aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.5) in 24 h. These inductions were inhibited by insulin. Addition of epinephrine or phenylephrine at 10 microM blocked these inductions. This suppressive effect of adrenergic compounds was completely abolished by the alpha-adrenergic antagonist phenoxybenzamine at 10 microM. Immunochemical analysis with antiserum to serine dehydratase showed that the changes in enzyme activity were due to changes in the amount of enzyme. Epinephrine was effective even when glucagon was replaced by dibutyryl cAMP (50 microM), indicating that alpha-adrenergic suppression of enzyme inductions was mediated by a cAMP-independent mechanism. Furthermore, the findings that prazosin antagonized this epinephrine effect, but yohimbine did not, indicate that the alpha 1- but not the alpha 2-receptor is involved in this inhibition. However, the alpha-adrenergic effect was different from that of insulin in that, unlike the latter, the inductions of tryptophan oxygenase and tyrosine amino-transferase by dexamethasone alone were not inhibited. The alpha-adrenergic action apparently counteracts the action of glucagon and cAMP. For determination of the beta-adrenergic effect of catecholamines on the inductions of enzymes, beta-adrenergic compounds were tested without glucagon. Isoproterenol or epinephrine plus phenoxybenzamine induced tryptophan oxygenase and tyrosine aminotransferase. Induction of serine dehydratase was shown by isoproterenol only in the presence of 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine, an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase. These results indicate that catecholamines play dual roles in regulation of the amount of enzyme through their alpha 1- and beta-adrenergic actions.