Specific antibodies and the selective inhibitor ICI 118233 demonstrate that the hormonally stimulated 'dense-vesicle' and peripheral-plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterases display distinct tissue distributions in the rat.

Polyclonal-antibody preparations DV1 and PM1, raised against purified preparations of rat liver insulin-stimulated 'dense-vesicle' and peripheral-plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterases, were used to analyse rat liver homogenates by Western-blotting techniques. The antibody DV1 identified only the 63 kDa native subunit of the 'dense-vesicle' enzyme, and the antibody PM1 only the 52 kDa subunit of the plasma-membrane enzyme. These antibodies also detected the subunits of these two enzymes in homogenates of kidney, heart and white adipose tissue from rat. Quantitative immunoblotting demonstrated that the amount of these enzymes (by wt.) varied in these different tissues, as did the expression of these two enzymes, relative to each other, by a factor of as much as 7-fold. The ratio of the dense-vesicle enzyme to the peripheral-plasma-membrane enzyme was lowest in liver and kidney and highest in heart and white adipose tissue. ICI 118233 was shown to inhibit selectively the 'dense-vesicle' cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase in liver. It did this in a competitive fashion, with a Ki value of 3.5 microM. Inhibition of tissue-homogenate cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity by ICI 118233 was used as an index of the contribution to activity by the 'dense-vesicle' enzyme. By this method, a tissue distribution of the 'dense-vesicle' enzyme was obtained which was similar to that found by using the immunoblotting technique. The differential expression of isoenzymes of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in various tissues might reflect a functional adaptation, and may provide the basis for the different physiological actions of compounds which act as selective inhibitors.