Regulation of rat alcohol-dehydrogenase by cyclic AMP in primary hepatocyte culture

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is enhanced separately by epinephrine and by glucagon in primary rat hepatocyte culture. This study determined whether cyclic AMP, a common mediator for some of the actions of the above hormones, increases ADH. Administration of theophylline, a cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor which increases endogenous cyclic AMP, in a dose of 100 mg/kg to rats for 5 days, increased ADH activity. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP (10 μM) added to primary hepatocytes in culture increased ADH mRNA and ADH activity at 12 and 24 h, respectively, after its addition. The increase in ADH mRNA was preceded by an increase in the expression of C/EBPβ mRNA and in C/EBPβ protein. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP, in transient transfection experiments of primary rat hepatocyte culture, activated an ADH promoter gene construct containing the C/EBP binding site, but failed to activate a construct containing a 4-bp mutation at this site. These results show that cyclic AMP induces ADH and suggests that this effect is mediated by C/EBPβ binding to the C/EBP site. The previously demonstrated induction of ADH by epinephrine and glucagon may be mediated by a common pathway via an increase in cyclic AMP.