Norepinephrine induces glial-specific enzyme activity in cultured plasma glioma cells.

Addition of 1 micronM 1-norepinephrine to cultures of C6TK- rat glioma cells caused a 2-fold increase in specific activity of the glial-specific enzyme 2':3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphohydrolase (nucleoside-2':3'-cyclic-phosphate 3'-nucleotidohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.16). Specific activity could also be stimulated by analogues of 3':5'-cyclic AMP, and the effect of norepinephrine could be blocked by beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists but not by alpha-adrenergic antagonists. Norepinephrine or cyclic AMP analogues also increased the specific activity of this enzyme in other clones of glioma and Schwannoma cells and in glioma X neuroblastoma cell hybrids. These results show that the stimulatory effect of norepinephrine on cyclic AMP concentrations in glioma cells leads ultimately to a stimulation of glial-specific cell funtion.