Activation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase in normal and malignant bone cells by parathyroid hormone, prostaglandin E2, and prostacyclin.

Hormonal activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase has been studied in cultured cells derived from a rat osteogenic sarcoma and in osteoblast-rich cells grown from newborn rat calvaria. Both cell strains contain adenylate cyclase activities which respond to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and a variety of prostanoids. PTH, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and prostacyclin (PGI2) were all capable of activating cAMP-dependent protein kinase(s) in suspensions of the two cell types. Activation was very rapid in all cases, being detectable at 10 sec and maximal between 30-60 sec. Using saturating concentrations of hormones, the protein kinase activity ratio remained elevated (between 0.6-0.9) for up to 35 min after the start of PGE2 stimulation, but declined toward basal activity ratio 5-10 min after stimulation with PTH or PGI2. Each of the hormones caused a dose-dependent increase in activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in both cell types. Half-maximal activation of the enzyme occurred at 2 X 10(-9) M bovine PTH for calvarial cells, at 10(-8) M bPTH for osteogenic sarcoma cells, and at 2-4 X 10(-8) M PGE2 and 1-3 X 10(-7) M PGI2 for both cell types. Maximal activation of protein kinase occurred before maximal cAMP accumulated, implying that only a fraction of cAMP is biologically significant. These two cell strains provide a useful means of analyzing postreceptor events in the hormonal regulation of bone cells.