Location of an isoproterenol-responsive cyclic AMP pool in adrenergic nerve cell bodies and its relationship to tyrosine 3-monooxygenase induction.

To decide whether adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) plays a role as a second messenger in the trans-synaptic induction of tyrosine 3-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.16.2), it is desirable to discriminate between neuronal and extraneuronal changes in cyclic AMP concentration. Treatment of newborn rats with nerve growth factor antiserum or 6-hydroxydopamine, leading to destruction of 61-85% of the adrenergic nerve cell bodies in the superior cervical ganglion, led to a decrease in cyclic AMP of only 16-28%. This observation demonstrates that a relatively small portion of cyclic AMP is localized in the adrenergic neurons. However, administration of isoproterenol produced an increase (12-fold) in cyclic AMP only in this neuronal pool. Neither single nor repeated injections of isoproterenol led to induction of tyrosine monoxygenase. This, together with previous observations that experimental conditions leading to induction of the enzyme do not produce significant increases of cyclic AMP in the whole ganglion, is taken as an indication that cyclic AMP is not acting as a second messenger in the trans-synaptic induction of tyrosine monooxygenase in the rat superior cervical ganglion. In the rat adrenal medulla, treatment with reserpine led to both a shortlasting (60-90 min) increase in cyclic AMP and a subsequent induction of tyrosine monooxygenase. However, the increase in cyclic AMP was almost completely prevented (40 compared to 320%) by pretreatment of the rats with propranolol while the induction of tyrosine monooxygenase was not diminished. This observation also argues against an exclusive key-function of cyclic AMP in trans-synaptic induction of tyrosine monooxygenase in the adrenal medulla.