Metallothionein-vasopressin fusion gene expression in transgenic mice. Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus and brain transcripts localized to magnocellular neurons.

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a potent neuroactive and vasoactive nonapeptide encoded in and processed from a precursor, preproarginine vasopressin-neuro-physin II (preproAVP-NPII). To study the physiologic consequences of a genetic model of chronic hypervasopressinemia transgenic mice were produced by introduction of a mouse metallothionein-rat-ppAVP-NPII fusion gene into the germ line of mice. Three stable transgenic pedigrees were analyzed through several generations. Levels of immunoreactive AVP and neurophysin (NP) in sera, livers, kidneys, intestines, pancreas, and brains were markedly elevated. Chromatographic analyses showed sera levels of approximately 500 pg/ml (normal 0-20 pg/ml) of authentic AVP non-apeptide and serum osmolalities were elevated, 315.4 +/- 1.4 mosm/liter (control, 307.3 +/- 1.1), consistent with a state of mild nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Brain levels of immunoreactive AVP in transgenic mice were 3-4-fold elevated 145 +/- 15 ng/g versus 31 +/- 7 (controls). Although immunoreactive AVP in livers and intestines, and to some extent kidneys, consisted predominantly of unprocessed precursors, in brain and pancreas greater than 90% of AVP consisted of processed bioactive nonapeptide, as determined by chromatography and measurements of cAMP-generation in LLC-PK1 cells. Immunocytochemistry localized immunoreactive AVP to the exocrine pancreas and to the magnacellular neurons (SON and PVN) of the hypothalamus. Expression of the fusion gene in the hypothalamus was further demonstrated by Northern analyses of fusion gene specific transcripts and in situ histohybridization. Although the fusion gene contained only 35 base pairs of 5'-flanking DNA of the ppAVP-NPII gene, a tentative neuronal cell-specific expression element, -17GCCCAG-CC-10 resides in this sequence and may confer neuron-specific expression to the fusion gene.

Provasopressin-neurophysin II processing is cell-specific in heterologous cell lines expressing a metallothionein-vasopressin fusion gene.

Preprovasopressin-neurophysin II (prepro-AVP-Np), the precursor of the cyclic, amidated nonapeptide, arginine vasopressin (AVP), is present in the central and peripheral nervous systems, adrenal glands, and gonads of rats. To study cell-specific processing of prepro-AVP-Np, a fusion gene consisting of the heavy metal-inducible promoter of the mouse metallothionein I gene and the rat prepro-AVP-Np gene was introduced by cellular transfection into several defined cell phenotypes: a fibroblast line (BHK), a pituitary growth hormone and prolactin-producing cell line (GH4), a pituitary cell line that produces several amidated peptides (AtT-20), and an insulin-producing pancreatic islet line (RIN- 1046-38). Clonal cell lines were isolated and prepro-AVP-Np-specific transcripts were detected by Northern blot hybridization analyses. Fibroblast BHK and pituitary GH4 cells transfected with the fusion gene synthesized a polypeptide (Mr = 18,000) characteristic of the glycosylated precursor, pro-AVP-Np; in metal -treated cells, this protein was the major secreted cysteine-labeled polypeptide. Extracts of RIN-1046-38 and AtT-20 cells transfected with the fusion gene contained predominantly processed neurophysin and amidated arginine vasopressin, whereas extracts of BHK and GH4 cells contained mainly precursors of AVP and neurophysin. These observations indicate that the pathways involving specific post-translational processing of pro-AVP-Np are more efficiently utilized in the prohormone-producing AtT-20 and RIN-1046-38 cells than in GH4 and BHK cells that do not synthesize any recognized prohormones.

Dexamethasone inhibition of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) activity: paradoxical induction of both tPA antigen and plasminogen activator inhibitor.

Incubation of HTC rat hepatoma cells with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone rapidly inhibits plasminogen activator (PA) activity and reveals the presence of a specific PA inhibitor (PAI-1). To determine whether the hormonal inhibition of PA activity reflects a decrease in the amount of PA or an increased amount of the inhibitor, or both, we have assayed PA and PAI-1 immunologically. HTC PA was determined to be entirely of the tissue type (tPA), and both free and complexed antigen was quantified by a RIA using rabbit antirat tPA, with rat insulinoma tPA as tracer and standard. PAI-1 was quantified by a Western blot assay using rabbit anti-HTC PAI-1 antibody and purified HTC PAI-1 as standard. Under conditions in which dexamethasone inhibited PA activity by 90%, there was no decrease in the cellular content of tPA antigen. Paradoxically, dexamethasone increased tPA antigen approximately 1.5-fold. Under these same conditions, dexamethasone increased PAI-1 antigen 4- to 5-fold. We conclude that the glucocorticoid inhibition of tPA activity in HTC cells is not secondary to a decrease in the amount of tPA but is secondary to the induction of a specific PA inhibitor.

Characterization of the dexamethasone-induced inhibitor of plasminogen activator in HTC hepatoma cells.

Incubation of HTC rat hepatoma cells with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone rapidly inhibits plasminogen activator (PA) activity secondary to the induction of a specific acid-stable inhibitor of plasminogen activation (Cwikel, B. J., Barouski-Miller, P.A., Coleman, P.L., and Gelehrter, T.D. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 6847-6851). We have further characterized this inhibitor with respect to its interaction with both urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator, and its protease specificity. The HTC PA inhibitor rapidly inhibits urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator with an apparent second-order rate constant of 3-5 x 10(7) M-1 X s-1. The inhibitor forms stable covalent complexes with both urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator, with which plasmin, trypsin, and factor Xa apparently do not compete. Complex formation is saturable and requires the active site of the PA. The mass of the inhibitor-PA complex is 50,000 daltons greater than that of PA alone, consistent with an Mr for the PA inhibitor of 50,000 as demonstrated directly by reverse fibrin autography. The HTC PA inhibitor does not inhibit thrombin and differs in its kinetic and biochemical properties from protease nexin.

Dexamethasone induction of an inhibitor of plasminogen activator in HTC hepatoma cells.

Incubation of HTC rat hepatoma cells with dexamethasone causes a rapid decrease in cellular plasminogen activator (PA) activity. Mixing experiments show the presence of an inhibitor of PA in dexamethasone-treated cells. This study investigates whether the decrease in PA activity is secondary to the induction of an inhibitor by glucocorticoids, to a decrease in the amount of PA, or to a combination of both mechanisms. PA and its inhibitor are dissociated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under non-reducing conditions, and both activities are then recovered and quantitated. HTC cells have two major forms of PA with Mr values of 110,000 and 64,000. Although PA activity in the unfractionated extracts from dexamethasone-treated cells is inhibited by 90% relative to control, there is no decrease in the total activity of sodium dodecyl sulfate-dissociated PA activity, suggesting that dexamethasone causes no decrease in the amount of the enzyme. PA inhibitor activity migrates as a single band of Mr = 50,000. The total activity of inhibitor increases in a time-dependent fashion, reaching a maximum of greater than 10 times control after a 4-6-h incubation with 0.1 microM dexamethasone. The induction of inhibitor requires both RNA and protein synthesis and shows a dependence on dexamethasone concentration identical to that for responses known to be mediated by glucocorticoid receptors. We conclude that dexamethasone inhibits PA activity by inducing the synthesis of an inhibitor rather than by decreasing the amount of PA.

Hormonal regulation of plasminogen activator in rat hepatoma cells.

Plasminogen activators are membrane-associated, arginine-specific serine proteases which convert the inactive plasma zymogen plasminogen to plasmin, an active, broad-spectrum serine protease. Plasmin, the major fibrinolytic enzyme in blood, also participates in a number of physiologic functions involving protein processing and tissue remodelling, and may play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. In HTC rat hepatoma cells in tissue culture, glucocorticoids rapidly decrease plasminogen activator (PA) activity. We have shown that this decrease is mediated by induction of a soluble inhibitor of PA activity rather than modulation of the amount of PA. The hormonally-induced inhibitor is a cellular product which specifically inhibits PA but not plasmin. We have isolated variant lines of HTC cells which are selectively resistant to the glucocorticoid inhibition of PA but retain other glucocorticoid responses. These variants lack the hormonally-induced inhibitor; PA from these variants is fully sensitive to inhibition by inhibitor from steroid-treated wild-type cells. Cyclic nucleotides dramatically stimulate PA activity in HTC cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Paradoxically, glucocorticoids further enhance this stimulation. Thus glucocorticoids exert two separate and opposite effects on PA activity. The availability of glucocorticoid-resistant variant cell lines, together with the unique regulatory interactions of steroids and cyclic nucleotides, make HTC cells a useful experimental system in which to study the multihormonal regulation of plasminogen activator.