Activation of the guanylate cyclase-guanosine 3'5' monophosphate system of colonic mucosa by n-methyl-n'-nitro-n-nitrosoguanidine.

The effects of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) on the guanylate cyclase (GC)-guanosine 3'5' monophosphate (cGMP) system of rat colonic mucosa were studied. MNNG (1 mM) increased colonic mucosal cGMP from 1.8 +/- 0.2 to 22.5 +/- 2.7 pmol/mg protein in 5 minutes. Increases in response to MNNG occurred in the presence or absence of extracellular Ca2+, whereas the two-fold increase in mucosal cGMP mediated by carbamylcholine was abolished by exclusion of Ca2+. Although GC activity of mucosal homogenates was found predominantly (90%) in the 100,000 g particulate fraction, the effects of MNNG on mucosal cGMP correlated with stimulation of 100,000 g soluble GC by this agonist. MNNG increased soluble GC 13-fold over the corresponding basal with 4 mM Mn2+, and 48-fold with 4 mM Mg2+ as the sole available divalent cation. Compared with unstimulated GC, the MNNG-activated soluble enzyme was less dependent upon Mn2+ availability and effectively utilized Mg2+ as metal co-factor. N-ethylmaleimide, a sulfhydryl group alkylator, inhibited MNNG stimulation of GC and cGMP. Thus, expression of these MNNG actions may involve drug interaction with tissue thiol groups. Prior incubation of MNNG with thiol antioxidants or ascorbate also suppressed MNNG stimulation of GC, possibly through direct drug reactions involving nucleophilic and electrophilic reactants. The ability of MNNG to stimulate the colonic mucosal GC-cGMP system could be linked to its carcinogenic action.