Abstract
Variety of cell functions,e.g. neuronal excitation,transport, secretion, proliferation and differentiation, are believed to be influenced by cGMP, a unique component in the complex network of biological regulations. To study its possible involvement in the regulation of both the function and the ontogenic development of brown fat (a heat generating organ most important neonatally) we have assayed the steady-state levels of cGMP in tissue extracts. Between 20 and 60 pmol/g w.w. (1 to 5 % of the cAMP levels) were found. Highest concentrations were observed perinatally and were followed by a progressive decline with age. Cold stress resulted in a significant but temporary increase in cGMP levels,as did NE administration to one-month-old animals. Chemical sympathectomy by 6-hydroxydopamine decreased the “resting” levels of cGMP in the tissue. Injections of insulin and of gluco corticoids to suckling rats increased the level of the nucleotide in brown fat;the time dependent bi-phasic profile observed did not correlate with that of cAMP.The protein kinase(s) system of brown fat from fetal and newborn rats showed 10 times higher affinity for cGMP than that of older animals. Further experiments will be required before a function of cGMP in brown fat can be proposed ; nevertheless its presence,its responsiveness to physiological and pharmacological stimuli,and the presence of its target system - a cGMP-dependent protein kinase - have been established.
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Skala, J., Hahn, P. & Knight, B. 215 GUANOSINE 3′: 5′- CYCLIC MONOPHOSPHATE (cGMP) IN BROWN ADIPOSE TISSUE OF DEVELOPING RATS. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 399 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00220
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00220