Protein Kinase C of Sympathetic Neuronal Membrane Is Activated by Phorbol Ester-Correlation Between Transmitter Release, 45Ca2+ Uptake, and the Enzyme Activity

The effects of phorbol esters [phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB), 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), and phorbol 13-acetate] were investigated on the release of [3H]norepinephrine, 45Ca2+ accumulation, and protein kinase C activity in cultured sympathetic neurons of the chick embryo. Sympathetic neurons derived from 10-day-old chick embryo were cultured in serum-free medium supplemented with insulin, transferrin, and nerve growth factor. After 3 days, neurons were loaded with [3H]-norepinephrine and the release of [3H]norepinephrine was determined before and after electrical stimulation. Stimulation at 1 Hz for 15 s increased the release of [3H]-norepinephrine over the nonstimulation period. Stimulation-evoked release gradually declined with time during subsequent stimulation periods. Incubation of neurons in Ca2+-free Krebs solution containing 1 mM EGTA completely blocked stimulation-evoked release of [3H]-norepinephrine. Stimulation-evoked release of [3H]-norepinephrine was markedly facilitated by 3 and 10 nM PDB or TPA. The spontaneous release was also enhanced by PDB and TPA. The net accumulation of 45Ca2+ during stimulation of sympathetic neurons was increased by two- to fourfold in the presence of PDB or TPA. PDB at 1-100 nM produced a concentration-dependent increase in the activation of protein kinase C. PDB at 30 nM increased the activity of protein kinase C of the particulate fraction from 0.09 to 0.58 pmol/min/mg protein. There was no significant change in protein kinase C activity of the cytosolic fraction (0.14 pmol/min/mg versus 0.13 pmol/min/mg protein). The ratio of the particulate to cytosolic protein kinase C increased from a control value of 0.62 to 4.39 after treatment with 30 nM PDB. TPA (10 and 30 nM) also increased protein kinase C activity of the particulate fraction by six- to eightfold. Phorbol 13-acetate had no effect on protein kinase C activity, [3H]norepinephrine release, and 45Ca2+ accumulation. These results provide direct evidence that activation of protein kinase C enhances Ca2+ accumulation, which in turn leads to the facilitation of transmitter release in sympathetic neurons.     

Excess K+ and Phorbol Ester Activate Protein Kinase C and Support the Survival of Chick Sympathetic Neurons in Culture

The effects of phorbol esters were investigated on the survival of chick sympathetic neurons in a serum-free culture medium. The protein kinase C activator phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) supported about 40% of the plated sympathetic neurons. This number was comparable to that supported by nerve growth factor (NGF). A combination of phorbol ester and NGF did not significantly increase the number of surviving neurons. Phorbol ester-supported sympathetic neurons possessed desipramine-sensitive [3H]-norepinephrine uptake mechanism, and therefore were noradrenegic in character. Two days after the start of cultures, if NGF was replaced by phorbol ester, or phorbol ester was replaced by NGF, the number of surviving sympathetic neurons was essentially the same in both groups, and the uptake of [3H]norepinephrine was also comparable when examined 2 days after the switchover. Interchangeability between phorbol ester and NGF in the survival of sympathetic neurons suggests that both agents act on the same subpopulation of neurons of the chick sympathetic ganglia. The protein kinase C activity of cytosol and particulate fractions of NGF-supported neurons was 0.14 and 0.09 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively. In phorbol ester-supported neurons the activity in the particulate fraction increased by about fivefold. Removal of the phorbol ester after 2 days resulted in restoration of the enzyme activity in less than 1 h, and readdition of the phorbol ester again increased the activity by fivefold. When NGF was added to these neurons (1 microgram for 15 min), there was no change in the enzyme activity. Phorbol 13-acetate was ineffective in supporting sympathetic neurons in culture, as well as in enhancing protein kinase C activity. We also compared the protein kinase C activity of sympathetic neurons supported in culture by NGF and excess potassium (35 mM K+) Neurons supported in culture by 35 mM K+ for 2 days had almost eightfold more protein kinase C activity in their particulate fraction than in cytosol fraction. In NGF-supported neurons were acutely treated with excess K+, the protein kinase C activity was increased in the particulate fraction by about sevenfold in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Excess K+ plus phorbol ester did not produce an additive effect on protein kinase C activity. PDB and excess K+ had no effect on cyclic AMP content of sympathetic neurons. In summary, the present data suggest that the neurotrophic action of PDB and excess K+ is probably mediated through protein kinase C.     

Survival of Chick Embryonic Sensory Neurons in Culture Is Supported by Phorbol Esters

Sensory neurons of the chick embryo are supported in culture by several neurotrophic factors, including the phorbol esters. Because phorbol esters are known to activate one of the second messengers, namely, protein kinase C, it was of interest to see if the neurotrophic action of phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) was related to the activation of protein kinase C in sensory neurons. Sensory neurons were obtained from dorsal root ganglia of 10-day-old chick embryos and maintained in a serum-free medium for several days to quantify survival and analyze protein kinase C activity. PDB (30 nM) supported the survival of approximately 50% of the total number of neurons plated. This value was comparable to that supported by nerve growth factor (NGF; 40 ng/ml). If PDB and NGF were added together, there was no additive effect on the survival. The protein kinase C activity of the particulate and cytosolic fractions of sensory neurons supported by NGF for 3 days was 1.26 +/- 0.1 and 2.9 +/- 0.32 pmol/min/mg of protein, respectively. In contrast, neurons supported by PDB showed an approximately 500% increase in enzyme activity in their particulate fraction. The enzyme activity of the cytosolic fraction was decreased by approximately 40%. If NGF-supported neurons were treated with PDB (30 nM) for 15 min, protein kinase C activity increased greater than 400% in the particulate fraction, whereas an approximately 50% decrease was observed in the cytosolic fraction. The protein kinase C value, expressed as a ratio of the activities in the particulate to cytosol fractions, showed large increases after phorbol treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Activation of protein kinase C isozymes by contractile stimuli in arterial smooth muscle.

Protein kinase C (PKC) has been proposed to be involved in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) contractile activity. However, little is known in detail about the activation of this kinase or specific isozymes of this kinase by contractile stimuli in VSM. As an index of PKC activation, Ca(2+)- and phospholipid-dependent histone IIIS kinase activity was measured in the particulate fraction from individual strips of isometrically contracting carotid arterial smooth muscle. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) increased PKC activity in the particulate fraction (155% over resting value by 15 min) with a time course which paralleled or preceded force development. Stimulation with the agonist histamine (10(-5) M) resulted in rapid increases in both force and particulate fraction PKC activity which was maximal by 2 min (increase of 139%) and partially sustained over 45 min (increase of 41%). KCl (109 mM), which evokes a sustained contractile response, caused a slow increase (124% by 45 min) in particulate fraction PKC activity. No significant increases in activator-independent histone kinase activity were observed in response to any stimulus tested. PKC alpha and PKC beta were identified as the principal Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent PKC isozymes expressed in this tissue. In unstimulated arterial tissue, the ratio of immunodetectable isozyme content (alpha:beta) was estimated to be 1:1 in the particulate and 1.5:1 in the cytosolic fractions. Upon stimulation with each of the three contractile stimuli, particulate fraction PKC content assessed by immunoblotting increased with a time course and to an extent comparable to the observed changes in PKC activity. There was no evidence of differential regulation of the PKC alpha or -beta isozymes by PDB compared to the other contractile stimuli. These results indicate that diverse contractile stimuli are capable of tonically activating PKC in preparations of functional smooth muscle, and are consistent with a functional role for PKC alpha and/or -beta in the regulation of normal smooth muscle contractile activity.     

Growth-dependent subcellular redistribution of protein kinase C in cultured porcine aortic endothelial cells

We have previously observed major differences in the phosphorylation of membrane proteins in sparse, proliferating versus confluent, quiescent pig aortic endothelial cells (EC) (Kazlauskas and DiCorleto, 1987). In the present study we examined whether EC growth state can influence the activity of a specific phosphorylating enzyme, protein kinase C (PKC) in cytosolic and membrane fractions of pig aortic EC. Levels of PKC were measured using two methods: 1) Ca2+ and phospholipid-dependent phosphorylation of exogenous histones using gamma-labeled [32P]ATP, and 2) [3H]phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) binding activity. The total amount of PKC activity in the quiescent versus proliferating cells was similar but the percentage of PKC activity in the membrane fraction correlated with the proliferative index of the cells: confluent, quiescent cultures exhibited a majority of PKC activity in the cytosolic fraction (67%), whereas sparse, proliferating cultures contained principally membrane-bound PKC (70%). We also examined the role of PKC in the mitogenic response of pig aortic EC to fetal calf serum. Following serum stimulation of sparse, serum-deprived pig aortic EC, PKC activity redistributed from the cytosolic to the membrane fraction in a rapid process that correlated with subsequent DNA synthesis. A potent activator of PKC, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), induced a minimal mitogenic response in pig aortic EC when added alone but acted synergistically with low concentrations of fetal calf serum to greatly stimulate DNA synthesis. Furthermore, pig aortic EC treated with TPA for 24 h to down-regulate PKC exhibited only 25% of the serum-stimulated mitogenic activity of control cultures. These results suggest a role for PKC activation and translocation in the proliferation of pig aortic EC.     

Translocation-independent activation of protein kinase C by platelet-activating factor, thrombin and prostacyclin. Lack of correlation with polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis in rabbit platelets.

The relationship between polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis and protein kinase C (PKC) activation was explored in rabbit platelets treated with the agonists platelet-activating factor (PAF), thrombin and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), and with the anti-aggregant prostacyclin (PGI2). Measurement of the hydrolysis of radiolabelled inositol-containing phospholipids relied upon the separation of the products [3H]inositol mono-, bis- and tris-phosphates by Dowex-1 chromatography. PKC activity, measured in platelet cytosolic and Nonidet-P40-solubilized particulate extracts that were fractionated by MonoQ chromatography, was based upon the ability of the enzyme to phosphorylate either histone H1 in the presence of the activators Ca2+, diacylglycerol and phosphatidylserine, or protamine in the absence of Ca2+ and lipid. Treatment of platelets for 1 min with PAF (2 nM) or thrombin (2 units/ml) led to the rapid hydrolysis of inositol-containing phospholipids, a 2-3-fold stimulation of both cytosolic and particulate-derived PKC activity, and platelet aggregation. Exposure to TPA (200 nM) for 5 min did not stimulate formation of phosphoinositides, but translocated more than 95% of cytosolic PKC into the particulate fraction, and induced a slower rate of aggregation. PGI2 (1 microgram/ml) did not enhance phosphoinositide production, and at higher concentrations (50 micrograms/ml) it antagonized the ability of PAF, but not that of thrombin, to induce inositol phospholipid turnover, even though platelet aggregation in response to both agonists was blocked by PGI2. On the other hand, PGI2 alone also appeared to activate (by 3-5-fold) cytosolic and particulate PKC by a translocation-independent mechanism. The activation of PKC by PGI2 was probably mediated via cyclic AMP (cAMP), as this effect was mimicked by the cAMP analogue 8-chlorophenylthio-cAMP. It is concluded that this novel mechanism of PKC regulation by platelet agonists may operate independently of polyphosphoinositide turnover, and that activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase represents another route leading to PKC activation.     

Activity of protein kinase C during the differentiation of chick limb bud mesenchymal cells

Abstract. To investigate the relationship between protein kinase C (PKC) and chondrogenesis, PKC activity was assayed in cultures of stage 23/24 chick limb bud mesenchymal cells under various conditions. PKC activities of cytosolic and particulate fractions were low in 1 day cultured cells. As chondrogenesis proceeds, cytosolic PKC activity increased more than twofold, while that of the particulate fraction increased only slightly. Three days' treatment of cultures with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA, 5 × 10⁻⁸ M ) inhibited chondrogenesis judged by the accumulation of Alcian blue bound to the extracellular matrix and depressed PKC activity in cytosolic fraction. When cells were grown for 3 days in control medium after 3 days' treatment with PMA, chondrogenesis resumed and PKC activity recovered to normal values. PKC activity in cultures plated at low density (2 × 10⁶ cells/ml) where chondrogenesis is reduced was as low as that in 1 day cultured cells plated at high density (2 × 10⁷ cells/ml) or that in PMA treated cells. On the other hand, staurosporine promoted chondrogenesis without affecting PKC activity. Furthermore, reversal of PMA's inhibitory effect on chondrogenesis by staurosporine was not accompanied by recovery of PKC activity. These data indicate that increases in PKC activity is closely related to chondrogenesis and that PMA inhibits chondrogenesis by depressing PKC. However, staurosporine's enhancing effect on chondrogenesis is not related to PKC activity.     

Pituitary Adenylyl Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide and Nerve Growth Factor Use the Proteasome to Rescue Nerve Growth Factor-Deprived Sympathetic Neurons Cultured From Chick Embryos

Abstract: Removal of nerve growth factor (NGF) from sympathetic neurons initiates a neuronal death program and apoptosis. We show that pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) prevents apoptosis in NGF-deprived sympathetic neurons. PACAP (100 nM) added to culture medium at the time of plating failed to support neuronal survival. However, in neurons grown for 2 days with NGF and then deprived of NGF, PACAP prevented cell death for the next 24–48 h. Uptake of [³H]norepinephrine ([³H]NE) was used as an index of survival and decreased >50% in NGF-deprived cultures within 24 h. PACAP (1–100 nM) restored [³H]NE uptake to 92 ± 8% of that of NGF-supported controls. Depolarization-induced [³H]NE release in neurons rescued by PACAP was the same as that in NGF-supported neurons. PACAP rescue was not mimicked by forskolin or 8-bromo-cyclic AMP and was not blocked by the protein kinase A inhibitor Rp-adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphothioate. Mobilization of phosphatidylinositol by muscarine failed to support NGF-deprived neurons. Thus, PACAP may use novel signaling to promote survival of sympathetic neurons. The apoptosis-associated caspase CPP32 activity increased approximately fourfold during 6 h of NGF withdrawal (145 ± 40 versus 38 ± 17 nmol of substrate cleaved/min/mg of protein) and returned to even below the control level in NGF-deprived, PACAP-rescued cultures (14 ± 7 nmol/min/mg of protein). Readdition of NGF or PACAP to NGF-deprived cultures reversed CPP32 activation, and this was blocked by lactacystin, a potent and specific inhibitor of the 20S proteasome, suggesting that NGF and PACAP target CPP32 for destruction by the proteasome. As PACAP is a preganglionic neurotransmitter in autonomic ganglia, we propose a novel function for this transmitter as an apoptotic rescuer of sympathetic neurons when the supply of NGF is compromised.     

The induction of acetylcholine synthesis in primary cultures of dissociated rat sympathetic neurons : II. Developmental aspects

Dissociated sympathetic neurons from the neonatal rat, grown in cell culture in the virtual absence of other cell types, can develop many of the properties expected of differentiated adrenergic neurons including the ability to synthesize and accumulate catecholamines (CA)². However, in the presence of high concentrations of appropriately conditioned medium (CM), the cultures develop the ability to synthesize and accumulate acetylcholine (ACh); correspondingly, their ability to synthesize CA decreases. In this paper several developmental aspects of the CM effect are described. The time course of development of cultures grown with or without CM was followed using synthesis and accumulation of [³H]CA from [³H]tyrosine and production of [³H]ACh from [³H]choline as assays for adrenergic and cholinergic differentiation. The ability to produce CA or ACh developed along parallel time courses in the two sets of cultures, rising primarily during the second week in vitro and reaching a plateau during the fourth week. When CM was used as a cholinergic developmental signal, the sympathetic neurons showed a decreasing response to addition of CM as they matured adrenergically; addition of CM during the third or fourth 10 days in vitro was not as effective in inducing ACh production as addition during the first or second 10 days. Similarly, removal of CM at various times from cultures previously grown in CM showed that the cholinergic induction caused by CM was not easily reversible in older cultures. Thus, as with the adrenergic decision, the cholinergic decision becomes less reversible as the phenotype becomes fully expressed.     

Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate enhances electrically stimulated neuromessenger release from rat dorsal hippocampal slices in vitro

The protein kinase C activator 4 beta-phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) enhanced the electrically stimulated release of radiolabelled noradrenaline (NA), acetylcholine (ACh) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) from dorsal hippocampal slices of the rat in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. 4 alpha-Phorbol 12,13 didecanoate did not have an effect on the electrically stimulated release of any of the neuromessengers. Carbachol, which when present in the superfusion medium alone inhibited [14C]ACh release, significantly reduced the effect of PDB on the release of this neuromessenger. In the presence of either clonidine or [Leu5]enkephalin, which by themselves inhibited the electrically stimulated release of [3H]NA, the effect of PDB was significantly reduced. The enhancing effects of yohimbine and PDB on the electrically stimulated release of [3H]NA were additive. In all three cases, thus, the net effects of PDB were of a similar magnitude, whether the various compounds were present or not. Taken together, the present data suggest that the diacylglycerol/protein kinase C pathway is involved in the stimulus-evoked release of NA, ACh and 5-HT from dorsal hippocampal nerve terminals. Protein kinase C seems not to be involved in the modulation of the release of NA via presynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors and delta-opioid receptors and in that of ACh via presynaptic ACh receptors in that brain region.     

Changes in the Activity of Protein Kinase C and the Differential Subcellular Redistribution of Its Isozymes in the Rat Striatum During and Following Transient Forebrain Ischemia

The changes in the levels of protein kinase C [PKC(alpha, beta II, gamma)] were studied in cytosolic and particulate fractions of striatal homogenates from rats subjected to 15 min of cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries and following 1 h, 6 h, and 48 h of reperfusion. During ischemia the levels of PKC(beta II) and -(gamma) increased in the particulate fraction to 390% and 590% of control levels, respectively, concomitant with a decrease in the cytosolic fraction to 36% and 20% of control, respectively, suggesting that PKC is redistributed from the cytosol to cell membranes. During reperfusion the PKC(beta II) levels in the particulate fraction remained elevated at 1 h postischemia and decreased to below control levels after 48 h reperfusion, whereas PKC(gamma) rapidly decreased to subnormal levels. In the cytosol PKC(beta II) and -(gamma) decreased to 25% and 15% of control levels at 48 h, respectively. The distribution of PKC(alpha) did not change significantly during ischemia and early reperfusion. The PKC activity in the particulate fraction measured in vitro by histone IIIS phosphorylation in the presence of calcium, 4 beta-phorbol 13-myristate 12-acetate, and phosphatidylserine (PS) significantly decreased by 52% during ischemia, and remained depressed over the 48-h reperfusion period. In the cytosolic fraction PKC activity was unchanged at the end of ischemia, and decreased by 47% after 6 h of reperfusion. The appearance of a stable cytosolic 50-kDa PKC-immunoreactive peptide or an increase in the calcium- and PS-independent histone IIIS phosphorylation was not observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Target influences on [3H]ACh synthesis and release by ciliary ganglion neurons in vitro

The developmental influence of neuron-target interaction upon transmitter synthesis from labeled precursor and the capacity to release labeled transmitter were examined in dispersed cell cultures of embryonic ciliary ganglion neurons by comparing cultures of neurons plated alone and neurons plated upon pectoral myotubes. Of the total ACh synthesized from radiolabeled choline by neurons plated alone, more than half is via a Na+-dependent path, but a larger fraction of the synthesis is Na+ insensitive in culture than in mature neurons in vivo. In addition, at 1 week in culture the neurons lacking target failed to significantly increase ACh synthesis from the labeled choline in response to a previous high [K+]0 depolarization. Synthetic responsiveness to depolarization is a characteristic of mature nerve terminals in this preparation. One week after plating neurons onto myotube cultures, synthesis of ACh from the exogenous precursor is double that of sibling cultures lacking muscle, and prior depolarization with [K+]0 results in an increase in labeled product. Release from the labeled transmitter pool by the neurons with myotubes was also enhanced. [3H]ACh release elicited by depolarization via a Ca2+-dependent mechanism was more than fivefold higher in the cocultures. The influence of coculture with myotubes upon neuronal development is not duplicated by the neurons themselves despite formation of apparent interneuronal synapses (G. Crean, G. Pilar, J. Tuttle, and K. Vaca, 1982, J. Physiol. (London). 331, 87-104), by "fibroblasts" or medium conditioned over myotube cultures. Neurons under these conditions neither increase synthesis of [3H]ACh in response to a prior depolarization nor demonstrate enhanced basal [3H]ACh synthesis and release. Thus, coculture of embryonic ciliary ganglion neurons with a striated muscle target has a somewhat specific inductive effect, enhancing the capacity for neuronal [3H]ACh synthesis and release toward mature levels. This influence of a readily accessible target upon ciliary neuron cholinergic development in vitro may reflect a normal neuromuscular interaction occurring during embryogenesis.     

Different Modulation of Protein Kinase C Isozymes in Dibutyryl Cyclic AMP-Differentiated PC12h Cells

Abstract: PC12h cells can be differentiated into sympathetic neuron-like cells by various agents, including nerve growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, cyclic AMP analogues, and protein kinase C (PKC) activators. To study the involvement of PKC in the process of PC12h cell differentiation by cyclic AMP treatment, PKC isozymes (α, βI, βII, and γ) were analyzed using column chromatography and immunoblotting. Two PKC isozymes, PKC(α) and PKC(βII), were predominantly detected in PC12h cells. When stimulated by dibutyryl cyclic AMP, PKC(α) levels declined in the cytosolic fraction of the cells, whereas PKC(βII) levels increased. Increased PKC(βII) levels were also detected in the particulate fraction, whereas particulate PKC(α) levels did not change. The total PKC activity decreased in the cytosolic fraction following cyclic AMP stimulation of PC12h cells, whereas it stayed constant in the particulate fraction. Fractionation on a hydroxyapatite column showed a decreased level of PKC(α) activity and a transient increase followed by a decreased level of PKC(βII) activity. This discrepancy between increased PKC(βII) immunoreactivity and reduced PKC(βII) activity suggested the presence of nonactivatable PKC(βII) in cyclic AMP-treated PC12h extract. These findings indicate that PKC(α) and PKC(βII) are differentially regulated during the differentiation of PC12h cells. In addition, the differentiation of PC12h cells triggered by cyclic AMP seems to involve characteristic alterations of PKC isozymes.     

Stimulation of respiratory burst by cyclocommunin in rat neutrophils is associated with the increase in cellular Ca2+ and protein kinase C activity

In this study, the underlying mechanisms of stimulation by cyclocommunin, a natural pyranoflavonoid, of respiratory burst in rat neutrophils was investigated. Cyclocommunin evoked a concentration-dependent stimulation of superoxide anion (O2*-) generation with a slow onset and long lasting profile. The maximum response (16.4+/-2.3 nmol O2*-/10 min per 10(6) cells) was observed at 3-10 microM cyclocommunin. Cyclocommunin did not activate NADPH oxidase in a cell-free system. Cells pretreated with pertussis toxin or n-butanol did not affect the cyclocommunin-induced O2*- generation. However, a protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine and EGTA greatly reduced the O2*-generation caused by cyclocommunin. Treatment of neutrophils with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), but not with formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), for 20 min significantly reduced the O2*- generation following the subsequent stimulation of cells with cyclocommunin. Cyclocommunin did not affect the cellular mass of phosphatidic acid (PA). Neither the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, nor the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor, SB203580, affected cyclocommunin-induced O2*- generation. The enzyme activities of neutrophil cytosolic and membrane-associated protein kinase C (PKC) were both increased significantly with 100 microM cyclocommunin. The membrane-associated PKC-theta and PKC-beta were increased following the stimulation of neutrophils with 30 and 100 microM cyclocommunin, respectively. Cyclocommunin reduced the [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate ([3H]PDB) binding to cytosolic PKC in a concentration-dependent manner. Cyclocommunin (> or =3 microM) significantly evoked a slow and long lasting [Ca2+]i elevation in neutrophils, and a phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor U73122 greatly inhibited these Ca2+ responses. Moreover, the increase in cellular inositol bis- and trisphosphate (IP2 and IP3) levels were observed in neutrophils stimulated with 30 microM cyclocommunin for 3 min. Collectively, these results indicate that the stimulation of respiratory burst by cyclocommunin is probably mediated by the synergism of PKC activation and [Ca2+]i elevation in rat neutrophils.     

Redistribution of protein kinase C activity in human monocytes: correlation with activation of the respiratory burst

Protein kinase C (PKC) was found to be present in purified human monocytes and lymphocytes isolated by countercurrent centrifugal elutriation. In unstimulated monocytes and lymphocytes, approximately 90% of the PKC activity was cytosolic when the cells were disrupted in the presence of EGTA. The role of this kinase in the stimulation of the respiratory burst in monocytes was investigated. Phorbol esters capable of triggering the release of O2- caused a loss of PKC activity from the cytosol and the appearance of the kinase activity in the particulate cell fraction. Kinase activity was partially extractable from the particulate fraction by 0.1% Triton X-100, whereupon it demonstrated calcium and lipid dependence. The EC50 for the phorbols in initiating the respiratory burst correlated well with their EC50 for stimulating the appearance of PKC activity in the particulate fraction (R = 0.998). Redistribution of PKC activity in monocytes by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was rapid and appeared to precede the release of O2-. PMA also shifted PKC activity from the cytosol to the extractable particulate fraction of lymphocytes. We conclude that redistribution of PKC activity by active phorbols or other cell stimulants could provide substrate specificity for phosphorylation reactions. By shifting PKC activity to the monocyte particulate fraction, active phorbols may initiate the phosphorylation of a substrate required for stimulation of the respiratory burst.     

Activity and subcellular distribution of protein kinase C (PKC) in muscle and brain of force-fed zinc-deficient rats

The purpose of the present study was to investigate, in force-fed rats, whether alimentary zinc (Zn) deficiency affects the activity of the Zn-metalloenzyme protein kinase C (PKC). The in vivo activity of PKC was determined by measuring the subcellular distribution of the enzyme between the cytosolic and the particulate fraction in brain and muscle. For this purpose, 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats with an average live mass of 126 g were divided into 2 groups of 12 animals each. The Zn-deficient and the control rats received a semisynthetic casein diet with a Zn content of 1.2 and 24.1 ppm, respectively. All animals were fed four times daily by gastric tube in order to ensure that the depleted animals also received adequate nutrients and to synchronize the feed intake exactly. After 12 d, the depleted rats were in a state of severe Zn deficiency, as demonstrated by a 70% lower serum Zn concentration and a 66% reduction in the serum activity of alkaline phosphatase. Neither the cytosolic nor the particulate fraction of the thigh muscle showed any difference between the depleted and the control animals as regards PKC activity/g of muscle. The specific activity of PKC/mg of protein in the cytosolic fraction of the muscle was not affected by alimentary zinc deficiency, whereas the specific activity of PKC in the particulate fraction of the muscle was reduced by a significant 10% in Zn deficiency (150±12 vs 135±14 pmol P/min/mg protein). In the brain, neither the cytosolic nor the particulate fraction revealed any difference in PKC activity/g of fresh weight or in the specific activity/mg of protein between the control and the Zn-deficient rats.     

Increased protein kinase C activity in the central nervous system of the newt during limb regeneration.

Protein kinase C (PKC) activity was examined in the CNS of the newt Pleurodeles waltlii undergoing regeneration after limb amputation. In the spinal cord and brain of control newts, the level of PKC activity was virtually the same for the cytosolic and the particulate fractions. At days 7 and 14 after amputation of two limbs, a twofold increase in overall PKC activity occurred in the spinal cord and accounted for increased membrane-bound activity, while cytosolic activity was not significantly impaired. In contrast, overall PKC activity was not affected in brain. However, a twofold increase in the brain particulate fraction occurred at day 14 while cytosolic activity decreased proportionately. Similar alterations were observed in newts undergoing one or multiple limb amputations. Such changes in PKC activity neither occurred in the CNS of newt after limb denervation nor in the CNS of limb amputated frog Rana temporaria, an Amphibian which is unable to regenerate. Taken together, these results provide evidence that PKC of the CNS is involved in the regeneration process of newts. Changes in activation-associated PKC distribution proceeded through different mechanisms: long-lasting increase in membrane bound activity with a net increase of overall activity in the spinal cord, and long-term redistribution of enzyme activity to the particulate fraction in brain.     

Translocation of protein kinase C in human polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Regulation by cytosolic Ca2(+)-independent and Ca2(+)-dependent mechanisms

[3H]Phorbol dibutyrate [( 3H]PDB) rapidly and reversibly binds to human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). Ca2+/diacylglycerol/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C appeared to be the receptor for this binding because: a diacylglycerol, dioctanoylglycerol, competed with [3H]PDB for PMN binding sites; a blocker of protein kinase C-phospholipid interactions, sphinganine, inhibited PMN binding of [3H]PDB; and changes in cytosolic Ca2+ apparently regulated PMN binding of the label. Relevant to the last point, disrupted PMN contained 9 X 10(5) phorbol diester receptors/cell, whereas intact PMN had only 1.6 X 10(5) such receptors that were accessed by the ligand. This number fell to 1.0 X 10(5) in Ca2(+)-depleted PMN and rose to 2.5 X 10(5) in cells stimulated with the Ca2+ ionophore, ionomycin. This ionomycin effect lasted for greater than 16 min, correlated temporally with changes in cytosolic Ca2+, did not occur in Ca2(+)-depleted PMN, and was blocked by sphinganine. A second ionophore, A23187, likewise induced Ca2(+)-dependent rises in [3H]PDB binding. These results fit the standard model, wherein rises in cytosolic Ca2+ cause protein kinase C to translocate from cytosol to plasmalemma and thereby become more available to [3H]PDB. In contrast, two humoral agonists, N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) and leukotriene (LT)B4, had actions that did not fit this model. They stimulated PMN to increase the availability of PDB binding sites by a sphinganine-sensitive mechanism, but their actions differed from those of ionophores. They induced biphasic (t = 15 and 60 s) increases in [3H]PDB binding while eliciting monophasic (t = 15 s), short-lived (t less than 1 min) rises in cytosolic Ca2+. In Ca2(+)-depleted PMN, moreover, fMLP and LTB4 stimulated slow (t greater than or equal to 30 s), monophasic, prominent rises in [3H]PDB binding and binding site number without appreciably altering cytosolic Ca2+. We suggest, therefore, that fMLP and LTB4 translocate protein kinase C using two sequential mechanisms. The first involves Ca2+ transients and thus produces abrupt (t = 15 s), rapidly reversing responses. The second mechanism uses an unrelated signal to effect a more slowly evolving (t = 60 s) movement of protein kinase C to plasmalemma. Hence, the standard model does not explain all instances of protein kinase C translocation, and a cytosolic Ca2(+)-independent signal contributes to the regulation of protein kinase C as well as those responses elicited by the effector enzyme.     

Evidence for increased synthesis as well as increased degradation of protein kinase C after treatment of human osteosarcoma cells with phorbol ester

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) induces time-dependent changes in protein kinase C subcellular distribution and enzymatic activity in the human osteosarcoma cell line SaOS-2. Short (less than 60 min) incubations with PMA caused decreased cytosolic enzyme activity and a concomitant increase in particulate protein kinase; after 3 h, particulate protein kinase C activity also declined to reach less than 10% of basal activity by 24 h (Krug, E., and Tashjian, Jr., A. H., (1987) Cancer Res. 47, 2243-2246). In order to determine whether the loss in enzyme activity was due to decreased enzyme protein, Western blot analyses were performed using a polyclonal antibody against protein kinase C raised in rabbits. This approach confirmed the previously reported time-related changes: 80-kDa immunoreactive protein kinase C initially translocated from the cytosol to the particulate cell fraction and later disappeared completely from the particulate fraction. Loss of protein kinase C enzymatic activity thus results from actual loss of the 80-kDa protein; we found no evidence for generation of a calcium/phospholipid-independent protein kinase C-like form of the enzyme. Membrane association was confirmed by immunoprecipitation experiments using [35S]methionine-labeled cells. Brief exposure to PMA caused a marked loss in the [35S]methionine-labeled cytosolic protein kinase C band and an increase in the labeled particulate band. Protein kinase C immunoprecipitated from cells treated with PMA for 14 h displayed an increase in [35S]methionine label despite a greater than 80% loss of enzyme activity. The high specific radioactivity of the remaining 80-kDa protein leads us to conclude that long term treatment with PMA causes an increase in the rate of protein kinase C synthesis accompanied by a still greater increase in the rate of enzyme degradation in SaOS-2 cells.