Neurotensin stimulates both calcium mobilization from inositol trisphosphate-sensitive intracellular stores and calcium influx through membrane channels in frog pituitary melanotrophs.

Neurotensin (NT) is a potent stimulator of electrical and secretory activities in frog pituitary melanotrophs. The aim of the present study was to characterize the transduction pathways associated with activation of NT receptors in frog melanotrophs. Application of synthetic frog NT (fNT) increased the cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]c) and stimulated the formation of inositol trisphosphate (IP3). The phospholipase C inhibitor U-73122 blocked the electrophysiological and secretory effects of fNT. Intracellular application of the IP3 receptor antagonist heparin abolished fNT-induced electrical activity. Suppression of Ca2+ in the incubation medium markedly reduced the effect of NT on [Ca2+]c, firing rate, and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alphaMSH) secretion. Similarly, the inhibitor of IP3-induced Ca2+ release and store-operated Ca2+ channels, 2-Aminoethoxydiphenylborane, and the nonselective Ca2+ channel blockers GdCl3 and NiCl2, attenuated the [Ca2+]c increase and the electrical and secretory responses evoked by fNT. Coapplication of the L- and N-type Ca2+ channel blockers nifedipine and omega-CgTx GVIA reduced the effects of fNT on action potential discharge, [Ca2+]c increase, and alphaMSH release. The protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, PKC-(19-31) and chelerythrine, reduced the electrophysiological and secretory responses induced by iterative applications of fNT. Collectively, these results demonstrate that, in frog melanotrophs, NT stimulates the phospholipase C/PKC pathway and increases [Ca2+]c. Both Ca2+ release from intracellular stores and Ca2+ influx through L- and N-type Ca2+ channels are involved in fNT-induced alphaMSH secretion. In addition, the present data indicate that PKC plays a crucial role in maintenance of the responsiveness of melanotrophs to NT.