Epidermal growth factor potentiates cyclic AMP accumulation in A-431 cells.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) treatment of A-431 cells potentiates up to 5-fold the intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation induced by isoproterenol, cholera toxin, forskolin, or 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). EGF potentiates cAMP accumulation in several epithelial cell lines which overexpress the EGF receptor including A-431 cells, HSC-1 cells, and MDA-468 cells, and in the A-431-29S clone which expresses a normal complement of EGF receptors. Although EGF potentiates cAMP accumulation, EGF by itself does not measurably alter the basal level of cAMP. EGF rapidly enhances cAMP accumulation (within 1 to 3 min) in A-431 cells treated with these cAMP-elevating agents. EGF potentiation of cAMP accumulation does not reflect enhancement of beta-adrenergic receptor activation and is not a consequence of intracellular cAMP elevation or the concomitant activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Since EGF potentiates accumulation of both intracellular and extracellular cAMP in isoproterenol-treated A-431 cells, EGF does not potentiate intracellular cAMP accumulation by inhibition of cAMP export. EGF potentiation of cAMP accumulation is pertussis toxin-insensitive and does not result from EGF inhibition of cAMP degradation in A-431 cells. These results demonstrate that EGF transmembrane signaling includes an interaction with a component of the adenylate cyclase system and that this interaction stimulates cAMP synthesis resulting in enhancement of cAMP accumulation.