Cytochemical and biochemical observations on the alveolar guanylate cyclase of golden hamster lung.

Particulate guanylate cyclase (GTP pyrophosphate-lyase (cyclizing] has been cytochemically evidentiated in the cells which make-up the lung air-blood barrier. The cytochemical procedure utilized demonstrates the presence of membrane-bound guanylate cyclase activity through precipitation of lead pyrophosphate in tissues incubated with GTP or with guanylyl imidodiphosphate. Electron microscopic examination reveals that guanylate cyclase (GC) is localized, as micropinocytic vesicles, within endothelial components of small blood vessels, in basal lamina and in the flat alveolar cells. The secretory alveolar cells also exhibit the positive GC reactivity in their peripheric cytoplasm and in their microvilli. The observations support that GC and cGMP are involved in cellular transport phenomena. The enzyme might play a role in the secretion process of surface active material. Positive staining has been found also in other types of cells, namely alveolar macrophages and fibroblasts. A biochemical evaluation of GC activity shows that about 30-40% of this activity is associated with the particulate fraction, which justifies its abundance in the cytochemical reports shown in the paper.

Evidence for an inotropic positive action of cGMP during excitation-contraction coupling in frog sartorius muscle.

Within the realm of the general hypothesis concerning the role of cGMP on intracellular calcium regulation in biological systems, we have investigated the action of cyclic nucleotides during excitation-contraction coupling in frog sartorius muscle. Our data show that several guanosine nucleotides (GTP, GDP, dibutyryl-cGMP) can increase the isometric twitch tension with a maximum increase of 40% in the muscles treated with cGMP. This increase is completely independent of external Ca2+ concentration. The use of dantrolene sodium (known to inhibit calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum) results in a decrease in the twitch tension with a contemporary decrease in the intracellular levels of cGMP; whereas, the addition of cGMP to the muscles treated with dantrolene antagonizes, at least partially, the effect of the drug on tension development. Finally, in chemically skinned muscles, cGMP induces a reversible contracture equal to approximately one-half of that evoked by 10(-4) M Ca2+.