Short term feedback regulation of cAMP in FRTL-5 thyroid cells. Role of PDE4D3 phosphodiesterase activation.

Together with a transient accumulation of intracellular cAMP, thyrotropin (TSH) stimulation of the FRTL-5 thyroid cell induces phosphorylation and activation of a cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE4D3). Here we have investigated the impact of PDE4D3 activation on hormone responsiveness. Stimulation of FRTL-5 cells with TSH caused an increase in PDE activity within 3 min, with a maximal stimulation reached after 5 min. Preincubation with the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H89 or (R(p))-cAMPS, but not with the inactive isomer H85, blocked this activation. Preincubation with PKA inhibitors also blocked the shift in mobility of the PDE4D3 protein. Under these conditions, H89, but not H85, potentiated the cAMP accumulation induced by TSH. Incubation of FRTL-5 cells with the PKA activator 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)adenosine-cAMP caused an increase in PDE activity and a decrease in the endogenous cAMP, confirming the presence of a PKA-PDE feedback loop. MA-10 Leydig tumor cells stably transfected with either a wild type PDE4D3 or a PDE4D3 with mutations in the PKA phosphorylation sites showed an increase in PDE activity when compared with control cells. Human choriogonadotropin or Bt(2)cAMP treatment induced a stimulation of PDE activity in cells transfected with wild type PDE4D3, whereas the activation was absent in mutant- and control-transfected cells. The increase in cAMP accumulation elicited by human choriogonadotropin was reduced in cells transfected with the wild type PDE4D3, but not in cells transfected with the mutant PDE. Rolipram, a specific inhibitor of PDE4, restored the cAMP accumulation in the PDE4D3-transfected cells. These data provide evidence that a rapid activation of PDE4D3 is one of the mechanisms determining the intensity of the cAMP signal.