Growth hormone inhibition of lipogenesis in sheep adipose tissue: requirement for gene transcription and polyamines

Abstract

Abstract The chronic inhibitory effect of growth hormone (GH) on lipogenesis in sheep adipose tissue explants was investigated in an in vitro tissue culture system. In the absence of other hormones, GH caused a decrease in the rate of lipogenesis after 6 h of culture. In contrast, when lipogenesis was stimulated by the presence of insulin plus dexamethasone, GH again decreased lipogenesis but after a lag of at least 12 h. Actinomycin D, an inhibitor of gene transcription, prevented the effect of GH on lipogenesis in both the absence and presence of insulin plus dexamethasone. Actinomycin D added to tissue previously incubated for 6 h in the presence of GH alone prevented further decline in lipogenesis over the next 5 h, suggesting that transcription of a short-lived mediator protein is required for the GH effect to occur. An increase in ornithine decarboxylase activity was detected in explants exposed to GH, reaching a peak after 12 h incubation; this was prevented by actinomycin D. Methylglyoxal bis-(guanylhydrazone), an inhibitor of polyamine biosynthesis, partially alleviated the effect of GH on lipogenesis; this was reversed by addition of spermidine. However, spermidine did not reverse the effects of actinomycin D, implicating a short-lived protein in addition to ornithine decarboxylase in the action of GH. In the absence of other hormones GH had no effect on either the expressed (initial) or total activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, but GH prevented the increase in both expressed and total activities of the enzyme induced by insulin plus dexamethasone. Varying lipolysis and fatty acid accumulation in adipose tissue by addition of adenosine deaminase plus indomethacin or bovine serum albumin to the culture medium had no effect on lipogenesis and these agents partly alleviated GH inhibition of lipogenesis. No effect of GH was found on the amount of glycerol released by cultured tissue. GH also had no effect on fatty acid esterification. Thus the chronic inhibitory effects of GH on lipogenesis involve a protein with a very short half-life. The effect also requires polyamines but does not appear to involve changes in fatty acid concentrations in the cell. In addition GH appears to inhibit lipogenesis and to antagonise insulin-stimulation of lipogenesis by different mechanisms. Journal of Endocrinology (1994) 142, 235–243