Cationized serum albumin enhances basal and stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in canine renal membranes.

We examined the effects of cationized serum albumin on the canine renal membrane adenylate cyclase in the basal state and when stimulated with guanylyl-imidodiphosphate, PTH or NaF. Human albumin was cationized to an isoelectric point greater than 9.5 by the addition of hexamethylene diamine. Cationized albumin increased basal and stimulated cAMP production by the membranes and increased the sensitivity of the system to low doses of PTH (0.25 pmol/l), being usually inactive in buffer alone or in human serum albumin. These observations are comparable to those previously reported on thyroid membranes and cells from adrenal tumours and confirm that positively charged macromolecules can increase adenylate cyclase activity. A decrease in non-specific binding of PTH is only partly responsible for the increased sensitivity to the hormone. Though this increase in sensitivity is small, it could nevertheless be useful in the detection of biologically active PTH after extraction from the serum.