Differential responsiveness of adenylate cyclase from rat, dog and rabbit kidney to parathyroid hormone, vasopressin and calcitonin

Adenylate cyclase (AdC) sensitive to vasopressin (VP), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and salmon calcitonin (CT) has been studied in the three major anatomic subdivisions of the kidney of the rat, rabbit and dog, under identical experimental conditions. PTH stimulated cortical AdC of all three species; significant stimulation of AdC by PTH was also found in rat medulla and papilla. PTH had no effect on AdC in rabbit medulla and papilla, or dog medulla, but slightly inhibited AdC activity in dog papilla. CT stimulated AdC in rat and rabbit cortex and medulla. In dog kidney, CT caused an inhibition of both the medullary and papillary AdC. VP stimulated AdC in cortex and medulla of all three species but in contrast to dog and rat, in the rabbit, VP caused very little or no stimulation of AdC in the papilla. VP caused a marked increase in cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate content of tissue slices from papilla of rat and dog, but minimal changes in rabbit papilla. Thus, major differences exist in the responsiveness of AdC to VP, PTH, and CT, in cortex, medulla and papilla of rat, rabbit and dog assayed under identical conditions.