Coupling of corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors to adenylyl cyclase in human Y-79 retinoblastoma cells

In human Y-79 retinoblastoma cells, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) stimulates adenylyl cyclase activity and increases cyclic AMP accumulation. Different CRH analogues mimic the CRH stimulation of adenylyl cyclase and show similar sensitivity to the CRH receptor antagonist alpha-helical CRH9-41. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) also increases the enzyme activity but less potently than CRH, and its effect is counteracted by the VIP receptor antagonist [D-p-Cl-Phe6,Leu17]VIP. The VIP antagonist does not affect the response to CRH. The CRH-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity is amplified by Mg2+, is inhibited by submicromolar concentrations of Ca2+, and requires GTP. Moreover, the CRH stimulation is reduced by pretreatment of cells with cholera toxin and by incubation of membranes with the RM/1 antibody, which recognizes the C-terminus of the alpha subunit of Gs. In immunoblots, the RM/1 antibody identifies a doublet of 45 and 52 kDa. Two proteins of similar molecular weights are ADP-ribosylated by cholera toxin. These data demonstrate that in human Y-79 retinoblastoma cells, specific CRH receptors stimulate cyclic AMP formation by interacting with Gs and by affecting a Ca(2+)-inhibitable form of adenylyl cyclase.