IEPA.d58.s150
We have recently shown that AVP causes a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent increase in ACTH release and biosynthesis in ovine anterior pituitary cells
IEPA.d58.s151
In these cells, AVP also causes the translocation of PKC from the cytosol to the cell membrane which is maximal at 5 min, but the intracellular events distal to protein kinase C activation that underlie ACTH secretion have not been well characterized to date
IEPA.d58.s152
Since the MARCKS protein has been implicated in neurosecretion and is phosphorylated by PKC in synaptosomes, studies were carried out to determine whether AVP might cause MARCKS phosphorylation in the ovine anterior pituitary, and to determine whether this phenomenon might be temporally correlated with PKC translocation and the release of ACTH
IEPA.d58.s153
We conclude that: (1) AVP causes a rapid, and reversible, phosphorylation of the MARCKS protein in the ovine anterior pituitary; (2) since the AVP-induced increase in MARCKS phosphorylation occurs much earlier in these cells than does PKC trans-location, MARCKS phosphorylation may provide a more sensitive index of the onset of PKC activation than the translocation assay; (3) the close temporal association between MARCKS phosphorylation and the rapid early release of ACTH suggests that MARCKS phosphorylation may be involved in the initial intracellular events that underly exocytosis of the hormone.