Calcium-dependent regulation of guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate in renal cortex: effects of ionophore A23187 and tetracaine and evidence for independent control of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate.

The effects of carbamylcholine (Cch), the divalent cation ionophore A23187 and Ca2+ on the cyclic 3',5'-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) content of rat renal cortical slices were examined. In both the presence and absence of 10 mM theophylline, Cch detectably increased cGMP within 15 sec, with peak responses noted by 2 min. The maximal cGMP response to Cch alone (0.05 mM) was an increase of two- to three-fold over control. Theophylline, which was routinely present in the incubations and which alone increased cGMP of the slices two-fold over basal during 20 min incubations, potentiated the response to Cch (maximal increase, five- to sixfold over theophylline alone). The action of Cch to increase renal cortical cGMP was blocked by prior addition of atropine and was dependent upon the presence of Ca2+ in the incubation media. Exclusion of Ca2+ lowered basal cGMP and abolished increases mediated by Cch, while exclusion of Mg2+ was without detectable effect on cGMP. In slices incubated initially without Ca2+, reexposure to Ca2+ for 1min partially restored the cGMP response to Cch, and reexposure for 3 min completely restored this response. Since prior incubation of tissue in Ca2+-free buffer for only 2 min was sufficient to block the cGMP responses to Cch, depletion of tissue Ca2+ did not appear to be involved. A23187 also increased renal cortical cGMP fivefold in the presence of Ca2+. Its effects were not additive with those of Cch and were not additive with those of Cch and were not expressed by Mg2+ in Ca2+-free media. By contrast, tetracaine, which blocks Ca2+ transport across or binding to biologic membranes, reduced basal cGMP and inhibited the actions of Cch and A23187 to increase cGMP in cortical slices incubated with Ca2+. The action of 1 mM tetracaine to block Cch-mediated increases in cGMP was partially reversed by increasing media Ca2+ from 1.5 to 5 mM, but not by increasing media Mg2+ to 5 mM. In contrast to their effects on cGMP, Cch, A23187, Ca2+ exclusion, and tetracaine did not detectably alter basal renal cortical cAMP or cAMP responses to parathyroid hormone (PTH). Conversely, concentrations of PTH, glucagon, and isoproterenol which maximally increased renal cortical cAMP did not alter cGMP. Furthermore, prior incubation of slices with Cch did not alter their subsequent cAMP response to PTH at a time when cGMP levels were still elevated, while prior incubation with PTH did not affect the subsequent cGMP response to Cch at a time when cAMP was increased. These studies demonstrate modulation of renal cortical cGMP by cholinergic stimuli and Ca2+. They also indicate that cGMP and cAMP in renal cortex can be regulated independently.