Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1969 Dec 1;43(3):432–441. doi: 10.1083/jcb.43.3.432

CONTROL OF GROWTH HORMONE PRODUCTION BY A CLONAL STRAIN OF RAT PITUITARY CELLS

Stimulation by Hydrocortisone

Frank C Bancroft 1, Lawrence Levine 1, Armen H Tashjian Jr 1
PMCID: PMC2107805  PMID: 5389137

Abstract

Addition of hydrocortisone to the medium of a clonal strain of rat pituitary cells (GH3) stimulated the rate of production of growth hormone. The stimulation had a lag period of about 24 hr, reached a maximum at 70–100 hr, and was observed at a hydrocortisone concentration as low as 5 x 10-8 M. Cells maximally stimulated with 3 x 10-6 M hydrocortisone produced 50–160 µg growth hormone/mg cell protein/24 hr. These rates were four to eight times those observed in control cells. At maximum stimulation, intracellular levels of growth hormone in both stimulated and control cells were equal to the amount secreted into the medium in about 15 min. Removal of hydrocortisone from the medium of GH3 cells caused a return of the rate of growth hormone production to that in control cells. Addition of hydrocortisone to the medium of cells growing exponentially with a population-doubling time of 60 hr caused both an increase in the doubling time to 90 hr and a stimulation of growth hormone production. Cycloheximide (3.6 x 10-5 M) and puromycin (3.7 x 10-4 M) suppressed incorporation of labeled amino acids into protein by 93 and 98%, respectively, and suppressed growth hormone production by stimulated and control cells by at least 94%.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (649.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alescio T., Moscona A. A. Immunochemical evidence for enzyme synthesis in the hormonal induction of glutamine synthetase in embryonic retina in culture. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1969 Jan 27;34(2):176–182. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(69)90628-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Birge C. A., Peake G. R., Mariz I. K., Daughaday W. H. Effects of cortisol and diethylstilbestrol on growth hormone release by rat pituitary in vitro. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1967 Nov;126(2):342–345. doi: 10.3181/00379727-126-32440. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. FRANTZ A. G., RABKIN M. T. HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE. CLINICAL MEASUREMENT, RESPONSE TO HYPOGLYCEMIA AND SUPPRESSION BY CORTICOSTEROIDS. N Engl J Med. 1964 Dec 31;271:1375–1381. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196412312712701. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GREEN H., GOLDBERG B. COLLAGEN AND CELL PROTEIN SYNTHESIS BY AN ESTABLISHED MAMMALIAN FIBROBLAST LINE. Nature. 1964 Oct 24;204:347–349. doi: 10.1038/204347a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Goldberg B., Green H. Collagen synthesis on polyribosomes of cultured mammalian fibroblasts. J Mol Biol. 1967 May 28;26(1):1–18. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(67)90257-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Green H., Goldberg B., Todaro G. J. Differentiated cell types and the regulation of collagen synthesis. Nature. 1966 Nov 5;212(5062):631–633. doi: 10.1038/212631b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HAM R. G. An improved nutrient solution for diploid Chinese hamster and human cell lines. Exp Cell Res. 1963 Feb;29:515–526. doi: 10.1016/s0014-4827(63)80014-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Horisberger M., Amos H. Glutamine synthetase: failure of induction of hydrocortisone at 27 degrees C. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1968 Oct 10;33(1):61–68. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(68)90255-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kohler P. O., Bridson W. E., Rayford P. L. Cortisol stimulation of growth hormone production by monkey adenohypophysis in tissue culture. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1968 Dec 9;33(5):834–840. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(68)90236-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Martin D., Jr, Tomkins G. M., Granner D. Synthesis and induction of tyrosine aminotransferase in synchronized hepatoma cells in culture. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Jan;62(1):248–255. doi: 10.1073/pnas.62.1.248. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. NATHANS D. PUROMYCIN INHIBITION OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS: INCORPORATION OF PUROMYCIN INTO PEPTIDE CHAINS. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1964 Apr;51:585–592. doi: 10.1073/pnas.51.4.585. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pecile A., Müller E. Suppressive action of corticosteroids on the secretion of growth hormone. J Endocrinol. 1966 Dec;36(4):401–408. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.0360401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Reel J. R., Kenney F. T. "Superinduction" of tyrosine transaminase in hepatoma cell cultures: differential inhibition of synthesis and turnover by actionomycin D. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1968 Sep;61(1):200–206. doi: 10.1073/pnas.61.1.200. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Reif-Lehrer L. Induction of glutamine synthetase in chick embryo retina: effects of serum and of steroid structure. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1968 Dec 23;170(2):263–270. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(68)90006-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tashjian A. H., Jr, Levine L., Wilhelmi A. E. Studies of growth hormone by micro-complement fixation. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1968 Feb 5;148(2):352–371. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1968.tb20363.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Tashjian A. H., Jr, Yasumura Y., Levine L., Sato G. H., Parker M. L. Establishment of clonal strains of rat pituitary tumor cells that secrete growth hormone. Endocrinology. 1968 Feb;82(2):342–352. doi: 10.1210/endo-82-2-342. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. WETTSTEIN F. O., NOLL H., PENMAN S. EFFECT OF CYCLOHEXIMIDE ON RIBOSOMAL AGGREGATES ENGAGED IN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN VITRO. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1964 Jul 22;87:525–528. doi: 10.1016/0926-6550(64)90131-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES