The characteristics of the cardiac adenylate cyclase system were studied in rats fed diets containing fish oil (menhaden oil) and other oils. Adenylate cyclase activity generally was higher in cardiac homogenates and membranes of rats fed diet containing 10% menhaden oil than in the other oils. The increase in enzyme activity, especially in forskolin‐stimulated activity, was associated with an increase in the concentration of the [3H]forskolin‐binding sites in cardiac membranes of rats fed menhaden oil. The β‐adrenergic receptor concentration was not significantly altered although the affinity for [3H]dihydroalprenolol‐binding was lower in membranes of rats fed menhaden oil than those fed the other oils. ω‐3 fatty acids from menhaden oil were incorporated into the cardiac membrane phospholipids. The results suggest that the observed increase in myocardial adenylate cyclase activity of rats fed menhaden oil may be due to an increase in the number of the catalytic subunits of the enzyme or due to a greater availability of the forskolin‐binding sites.

Colony-stimulating factor-one (CSF-1) and parathyroid-hormone-related protein (PTHrP) down-regulate osteoprotegerin (OPG) gene expression in the dental follicle of the rat first mandibular molar. To examine this regulation at the signal transduction level, we treated cultured dental follicle cells with either phorbolmyristate acetate (PMA) or dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) to activate either protein kinase C (PKC) or protein kinase A (PKA). Our results demonstrate that PMA up-regulates OPG gene expression and down-regulates the expression of CSF-1 and the PTHrP receptor (PTHrP-R). Conversely, dbcAMP down-regulates OPG expression and up-regulates CSF-1 and PTHrP-R expression. Immunostaining shows that PMA also increases the steady-state levels of protein. Thus, treatment with agents that affect protein kinase activity also enhance the steady-state mRNA and protein levels of OPG, as well as decreasing the mRNA levels of CSF-1 and PTHrP-R. The PKC-alpha isoform may be critical in OPG regulation because PKC-alpha gene expression is enhanced by PMA and reduced by either CSF-1 or PTHrP.

Three groups of male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 20% corn oil, 20% partially hydrogenated soybean oil (PHSBO) or 18% PHSBO + 2% corn oil. PHSBO contained about 48% of its total fatty acids as trans-octadecenoate. Rats were killed after 16-18 weeks of feeding the various diets, hearts were dissected and crude sarcolemma was prepared by differential centrifugation. The activities of ouabain-sensitive (Na+ + K+)ATPase were significantly lower in membranes of rats fed 20% PHSBO than the control rats fed 20% corn oil. The feeding of 2% corn oil with 18% PHSBO resulted in partial restoration of the enzyme activity. The maximum number of [3H]ouabain-binding sites (Bmax) was also lower in cardiac membranes of rats fed 20% PHSBO than those fed 20% corn oil. Similar to (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity, some restoration of the number of [3H]ouabain-binding sites was observed when 2% corn oil was fed with 18% PHSBO-containing diet. There was no difference in the binding affinity of the radioligand for the receptor among the 3 dietary groups. Adenylate cyclase activities (fluoride-, isoproterenol- and forskolin-stimulated) were lower in membranes of rats fed 20% PHSBO or 18% PHSBO + 2% corn oil than in the control group fed 20% corn oil. Density of the beta-adrenergic receptor was the lowest in cardiac membranes of rats fed 20% PHSBO. The feeding of 2% corn oil with 18% PHSBO resulted in partial restoration of the maximum number of [3H]dihydroalprenolol (DHA)-binding sites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)