An acute increase in the sphingomyelin content of a plasma membrane-enriched fraction of 3T3-LI cells was produced by incubation of the cells with 0.1 FLM dexamethasone for 4 hr. Dexamethasone also stimulated the activity of the pathway of sphingomyelin synthesis by utilizing the phosphorylcholine of phosphatidylcholine as a donor to ceramide to synthesize the phospholipid (phosphatidylcholine:ceramide cholinephosphotransferase). Dexamethasone-stimulated increase in the utilization of 14C-labeled choline of phosphatidylcholine for the synthesis of sphingomyelin was inhibited by the addition of cycloheximide to the incubation. Therefore, it appears that corticosteroid stimulation of new protein synthesis was required to produce the effect. An increase in the enzymatic pathway by 83% and of the sphingomyelin content of the plasma membrane-enriched fraction by 50% after incubation with dexamethasone for 4 hr demonstrates the rapidity with which the hormone can produce considerable remodeling of the membrane. The increase in the synthetic pathway in the plasma membrane-enriched fraction was sufficient to account for the measured increase in sphingomyelin. It appears likely that the large increase in membrane sphingomyelin could contribute significantly to the many demonstrated effects of corticosteroids upon membrane processes, including transport, receptors, and enzymatic activity.Corticosteroids have widespread effects on the function ofmost cells (1, 2). In the whole animal, deficiency or chronic excess is incompatible with survival. Glucocorticoids are essential for the growth of many cells in culture and have effects upon receptors, enzyme activity, and membrane transport. Most of these effects are thought to be secondary to steroid-receptor interactions influencing protein synthesis, but the proteins or enzymes involved have been identified in only a few instances.We have previously demonstrated an effect of dexamethasone and adrenalectomy upon the sphingomyelin content of human leukocytes and ghosts of rat epididymal fat cells (3-5).These effects have been seen both in vitro and in vivo, and cells obtained from adrenalectomized and intact animals have responded to the hormones. Fat cell ghosts from the adrenalectomized animals contain less sphingomyelin than those obtained from intact animals and undergo a greater increase when exposed to the corticosteroid. Studies of this action of corticosteroids and the mechanism by which it is produced were undertaken with 3T3-L1 cells in culture.
METHODS3T3-L1 fibroblasts, obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, MD), were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium with 10% fetal calf serum in the presence of 5% CO2 in air. After cells became confluent, they were incubated in media and 10% calf serum at 370C with and without 0.1 AM dexamethasone for 4 hr. When cycloheximide was added to the incubations it was at a concentration of 2 jig/ml.At the end of the incubation period, cells (=7 X 106) were washed with Hanks' balanced salt solut...