Calcium-independent stimulation of glycogenolysis by arginine vasotocin and catecholamines in liver of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) in vitro.

Arginine vasotocin (AVT) caused a concentration-dependent increase of glycogen phosphorylase alpha activity, breakdown of glycogen and release of glucose, when added to pieces of axolotl liver in organ culture. The concentration causing half-maximal response (EC50) was about 1 nmol/l. These actions of AVT were unaffected by the adrenergic antagonists propranolol, yohimbine and prazosin, but were blocked by equimolar amounts of d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)AVT, a synthetic antagonist of vasopressin. Arginine vasotocin similarly caused glycogenolysis in isolated perfused axolotl liver where the EC50 was about 0.1 nmol/l. The glycogenolytic action of AVT (10 nmol/l) was sustained for at least 3 h in Ca2+-free perfusion and longer in organ culture. No increase in Ca2+ concentration in the effluent perfusion medium was apparent during AVT-induced glucose release. Omission of Ca2+ from the medium, together with addition of EGTA (2.5 mmol/l) to the organ culture, had only a slight inhibitory effect upon the rate of glycogenolysis brought about by AVT and did not inhibit the glycogenolytic action of catecholamines. Addition of the calcium ionophore A23187 (5 mumol/l) neither caused glucose release nor abolished the glycogenolytic action of AVT added subsequently. Nevertheless, A23187 caused increased loss of 45Ca from Ca2+-loaded liver pieces whereas AVT was without effect. There was a slight accumulation of cyclic AMP (cAMP), but not cGMP, in axolotl liver pieces cultured in the presence of 0.1 mumol AVT/l and this was accentuated in the presence of phosphodiesterase inhibitors. We conclude that, in contrast to the position in mammals, Ca2+ is not involved in the glycogenolytic actions of AVT or catecholamines in axolotl liver. Preliminary experiments suggest that the same is true in the carp and we suggest that the involvement of Ca2+ in regulation of hepatic glucose release may not have evolved until after the amphibians separated from the ancestors of the mammals.