Effects of Interferons on cortisol secretion from bovine adrenal fasciculata cells

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Pharmacology 1997, Vol.73 (suppl.1), p.183-183
• Main Authors: Koji Itoh, Eiichi Tachikawa, Kenzo Kudo, Yukiko Kondo, Saburo Takahashi, Kazuho Harada, Masabumi Takahashi, Takeshi Kashimoto
• Format: Article
• Language: Japanese
• ISSN: 0021-5198

It has recently begun to be understood that there is the interaction between immune and endocrine systems in viva. To investigate whether the immune systems affect the function of the endocrine systems, therefore, we examined the effects of intereferones (IFNs), transmitters of the immune systems, on cortisol secretion from bovine adrenal fasciculata cells. Long-term pretreatment (2-24 hr) of the cells with recombinant human IFN-α-2b (300-15,000 U/ml) produced to its dose-dependent reduction of the cortisol secretion from the cells stimulated by ACTh. However, the pretreatmentwith human fibroblast IFN-β or recombinant human IFN-γ did not affect the secretion. The IFN-α inhibition of the ACTH-induced secretion was overcome by anti-human IFN-α antibody and it was reversible. On the other hand, IEN-α altered neither the ACTH- induced cyclic AMP formation nor pregnenolone-induced cortisol secretion. Further, the inhibitory effect of IFN-α was not affected by increasing the ACTH and the external Ca^2+ concentrations These results indicate that the IFN-α in IFNs specifically inhibits the secretion of cortisol from bovine adrenal fasciculata cells stimulated by ACTH. The results further suggest that IFN-α suppressively acts on the secretory pathway following cyclic AMP formation and prior to pregnenolone formation, and that the immune systems may regulate the function of the endocrine systems via IFNs in vivo.