3-Aminobenzamide inhibits poly(ADP ribose) synthetase activity and induces phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) in H4IIE hepatoma cells.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether changes in ADP-ribosylation affect expression of the gene encoding the gluconeogenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) in H4IIE hepatoma cells. Treatment with 3-aminobenzamide, a specific inhibitor of poly(ADP ribose) synthetase, caused an 89% decrease of ADP-ribosylation in isolated nuclei, and resulted in a two- to threefold induction of immunoassayable PEPCK in cultured cells. In contrast, the structurally related compound p-aminobenzoic acid had no significant effect on either process. In vivo labeling of proteins with [35S]methionine, followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography, showed that the induction of immunoreactive PEPCK by 3-aminobenzamide was due to a selective increase in the synthesis of the protein. The specific induction of PEPCK synthesis by 3-aminobenzamide was accounted for by a twofold increase of mRNAPEPCK which reached its maximal value 4 h after the addition of 3-aminobenzamide and returned to the basal level by 10 h. A possible role of ADP-ribosylation in cAMP or glucocorticoid induction of PEPCK was investigated in experiments in which H4IIE cells were treated with combinations of 3-aminobenzamide and either dexamethasone or a cAMP analog. In each case the effects on PEPCK induction were additive, indicating that glucocorticoids and cAMP induce PEPCK by pathways different from that used by 3-aminobenzamide.