Estradiol activates methylating enzyme(s) involved in the conversion of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine in rat pituitary membranes.

17 beta-Estradiol (E2) affects the sensitivity of pituitary cells to several neurohormones as LHRH, TRH, or dopamine, presumably by modulating receptor coupling mechanisms. We attempted to pinpoint the membrane processes underlying this modulation and studied the effect of E2 on pituitary membrane phospholipid methylation. Anterior pituitary membranes prepared from ovariectomized (ovx) or ovx plus E2-treated rats were assayed for phospholipid methylation. Methylated phospholipids were separated by TLC. Incorporation of [3H]methyl groups into phospholipids increased with membrane concentration and incubation time with S-adenosyl-L-methyl [3H]methionine; it was not Mg2+ dependent and was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine, methyltransferase inhibitor. pH was found to be critical. Formation of phosphatidyl-monoethanolamine, phosphatidyl-dimethylethanolamine, and phosphatidylcholine was markedly stimulated by treatment with E2. The effect increased progressively when animals were killed 15 h to 5 days after E2 implantation. The response involved a shift in the maximum velocity (Vmax) although there was no change in the available substrate for the methylating enzyme. This change in Vmax probably reflects changes in the amount of the methylating enzyme itself. Administration of 17 alpha-estradiol, an inactive stereoisomer of E2 was ineffective, pointing to a stereospecific interaction. After differential centrifugation of pituitary membranes, the highest specific methyltransferase activity was found in light mitochondrial (L) and microsomal (P) fractions and the lowest in nuclei (N) and the heavy mitochondrial (M) fractions. After sucrose density gradient centrifugation, methylated phospholipids were preferentially recovered from fractions corresponding to the endoplasmic reticulum and/or secretory granules. E2 treatment for 5 days did not modify the subcellular distribution of methyltransferase activity but stimulated it in all fractions; in contrast, it did not modify the activity of the other enzymes measured as fraction markers. Under the same experimental conditions, phospholipid methylation in membranes prepared from cortex, and anterior and mediobasal hypothalamic structures was not affected by the steroid, with the exception of a slight increment of [3H]methyl incorporation into mediobasal hypothalamic membrane phospholipids after 5 days of E2 treatment. These results indicate that E2-induced changes in pituitary responsiveness might be concomitant with selective effects of the steroid on specific membrane enzymatic activities involved in coupling mechanisms.