Glucocorticoid induction of tyrosine hydroxylase in a continous cell line of rat pheochromocytoma.

We have established a continous cell line (G1) in which the tyrosine hydroxylase specific activity is increased as much as 50-100-fold in response to dexamethasone. This response is specific for the glucocorticoid class of steroid hormones; it is elicited by dexamethasone, corticosterone, and triamcinolone, but not by estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, or deoxycorticosterone acetate. The increase in tyrosine hydroxylase specific activity is likely to be due to the increased synthesis of new enzyme protein rather than an activation of existing protein molecules, inasmuch as this increase is completely blocked by cycloheximide.