Characterization of α1-adrenergic receptor subtypes linked to iodide efflux in rat FRTL cells

Abstract

ABSTRACT We have characterized α1-adrenergic receptor subtypes in functional rat thyroid cells, FRTL, with relation to iodide efflux, and have also examined the effect of TSH on α1 receptor subtypes. FRTL cells grown in a medium containing 5 mU TSH/ml (6H cells) had five times the number of α1 receptors of those maintained in TSH-free medium (5H cells) (11·2 fmol/106 cells compared with 2·0 fmol/106 cells). Pretreatment with chlorethylclonidine (CEC; 10 μmol/l), which inactivates only α1b receptors, caused 98·8% and 97·0% decreases in the density of specific [3H]prazosin-binding sites in 5H and 6H cells respectively. LIGAND computer program analysis of the displacement curves for 2-(2,6-dimethoxyphenoxyethyl)-aminomethyl-1,4 benzodioxane (WB4101) showed that FRTL cells contained mostly low-affinity WB4101 sites. Using the phenoxybenzamine inactivation method, we found a linear relationship between α1 receptor density and the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration response in FRTL cells. Pre-exposure of intact FRTL cells to CEC caused a 98·7% decrease in noradrenaline-stimulated maximal increase in cytosolic free Ca2+. Also, CEC and 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid 8-(diethylamino) octyl ester (TMB-8), but not nicardipine, inhibited noradrenaline-stimulated iodine efflux. The results suggest that FRTL cells contain mostly the α1b-adrenergic receptor subtype; that the α1b receptors mediate cytosolic free Ca2+ and iodide efflux responses, and that TSH enhances these responses by increasing the α1b receptor density without affecting the post-receptor mechanism. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 124, 433–441