Dibutyryl cyclic AMP resistant MDCK cells in serum free medium have reduced cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase activity and a diminished effect of PGE1 on differentiated function
Authors: Devis Patricia E. , Grohol Sue Hiller , Taub Mary 
Published: February 2005

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) has a stimulatory effect both on the growth and the expression of differentiated function of Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells in a hormonally defined medium (Medium K‐1). While the stimulatory effect of PGE1 on MDCK cell growth is observed in subconfluent cultures, the effect of PGE1 on differentiated function (i.e., dome formation) is observed at confluency. PGE1 may possibly affect growth and such differentiated functions by separate mechanisms. In order to examine this possibility, dibutyryl cyclic AMP resistant variants of MDCK were selected. All of the variants were partially resistant to the growth inhibitory effects of dibutyryl cyclic AMP and theophylline. The cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase activity of four of the five variant clones studied was significantly reduced as compared with normal MDCK cells. The dependence of the kinase activity of several of the dibutyryl cyclic AMP resistant variants (DBr2 and DBr3) on the cyclic AMP concentration in the reaction mixture was compared with that of normal MDCK cells. At all of the cyclic AMP concentrations tested DBr2 and DBr3 cells had reduced protein kinase activity as compared with normal MDCK cells. This reduced activity could be attributed to a decrease in the Vmax for kinase in the two variants, rather than to a change in the Km of kinase for cyclic AMP. The cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity of dibutyryl cyclic AMP resistant variants was also studied. Unlike PGE1 independent clone 1, DBr2 and DBr3 cells did not differ significantly from normal MDCK cells with regard to their ability to degrade cyclic AMP.

The growth and functional responsiveness of DBr2 and DBr3 cells to PGE1 was also examined. DBr2 and DBr3 cells were shown to retain a normal growth response to PGE1. However the capacity of DBr2 and DBr3 cells to form domes in response to PGE1 was dramatically reduced as compared with normal MDCK cells. Nevertheless DBr3 cells were shown to still retain the capacity to form domes in response to other inducers. The effect of PGE1 on one of the functional parameters involved in dome formation (the activity of the Na+/K+ ATPase) was examined. The rate of ouabain‐sensitive Rb+ uptake was observed to be elevated in confluent monolayers of normal MDCK cells maintained in Medium K‐1, as compared with monolayers maintained in Medium K‐1 minus PGE1. In contrast in confluent DBr3 monolayers, the rate of ouabain‐sensitive Rb+ uptake was significantly lower than in normal MDCK monolayers, both in Medium K‐1 and in K‐1 minus PGE1, and a stimulatory effect of PGE1 on Rb+ uptake was not observed. These observations indicate that we have isolated a second class of variants which are phenotypically distinct from PGE1 independent cells. Furthermore these observations are consistent with the hypothesis that PGE1 increases MDCK cell growth and expression of differentiated function by different mechanisms.