Regulation of chromaffin cell secretion and protein kinase C activity by chronic phorbol ester treatment

Bovine adrenal chromaffin cells were exposed to phorbol esters to determine the effects of reduced levels of protein kinase C on secretion of hormones. Treatment with active phorbol esters such as 4 beta-phorbol 12, 13-didecanoate (PDD) reduced levels of protein kinase C activity with a maximal 80-90% reduction in activity after 16-24 h treatment (greater than or equal to 500 nM PDD). Treatment with PDD also inhibited catecholamine secretion from chromaffin cells evoked by nicotine, barium, and scorpion venom (50-70%, t1/2 approximately 6 h) and by veratridine (80%, t1/2 less than 15 min). Secretion induced by these agents in phorbol ester-treated cells returned to that of untreated cells by 3-4 days despite no recovery of protein kinase C activity. Potassium-evoked secretion was not inhibited by phorbol ester treatment. Catecholamine secretion from digitonin-permeabilized cells was more sensitive to calcium between 1 and 24 h, but not greater than or equal to 48 h, after addition of phorbol ester. The results suggest that phorbol esters inhibit secretion by activation of protein kinase C resulting in inhibition of ion channels or receptors but not of the secretory machinery itself; hence, protein kinase C may usually machinery itself; hence, protein kinase C may usually attenuate secretory responses in the adrenal chromaffin cell.     

Cellular signals regulating the release of ANF.

Atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), a peptide hormone that regulates salt and water balance and blood pressure, is synthesized, stored, and secreted from mammalian myocytes. Stretching of atrial myocytes stimulates ANF secretion, but the cellular processes involved in linking mechanical distension to ANF release are unknown. We reported that phorbol esters, which mimic the action of diacylglycerol by acting directly on protein kinase C and the Ca2+ ionophore A23187, which introduces free Ca2+ into the cell, both increase basal ANF secretion in the isolated perfused rat heart. Phorbol ester also increased responsiveness to Ca2+ channel agonists, such as Bay k8644, and to agents that increase cAMP, such as forskolin and membrane-permeable cAMP analogs. In neonatal cultured rat atrial myocytes, protein kinase C activation by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate stimulated ANF secretion, whereas the release was unresponsive to changes in intracellular Ca2+. Endothelin, which stimulates phospholipase C mediated hydrolysis of phosphoinositides and activates protein kinase C, increased both basal and atrial stretch-induced ANF secretion from isolated perfused rat hearts. Similarly, phorbol ester enhanced atrial stretch-stimulated ANF secretion, while the increase in intracellular Ca2+ appeared to be negatively coupled to the stretch-induced ANF release. Finally, phorbol ester stimulated ANF release from the severely hypertrophied ventricles of hypertensive animals but not from normal rat myocardium. These results suggest that the protein kinase C activity may play an important role in the regulation of basal ANF secretion both from atria and ventricular cells, and that stretch of atrial myocytes appears to be positively modulated by phorbol esters.     

Gonadotropin release and redistribution of calcium-activated, phospholipid-dependent protein kinase in phorbol-stimulated rat pituitary cells

The effect of phorbol esters on calcium-activated, phospholipid-dependent kinase (protein kinase C) and luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion was examined in cultured rat anterior pituitary cells. The potent tumor promoter 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) stimulated LH secretion and activated pituitary protein kinase C in the presence of calcium and phosphatidylserine. The enzyme activity present in cytosol and particulate fractions was eluted at about 0.05 M NaCl during DE52-cellulose chromatography. Preincubation of pituitary cells with TPA markedly decreased cytosolic protein kinase C activity and increased enzyme activity in the particulate fraction. The maximal TPA-induced change in enzyme activity, with a 76% decrease in cytosol and a 4.3-fold increase in the particulate fraction, occurred within 10 min. The dose-dependent changes in protein kinase C redistribution in TPA-treated cells were correlated with the stimulation of LH release by the phorbol ester. These results suggest that activation of protein kinase C by TPA is associated with intracellular redistribution of the enzyme and is related to the process of secretory granule release from gonadotrophs.     

Translocation of Protein Kinase C in Anterior Pituitary Tumor Cells

Previous studies have shown that phorbol esters and lithium each stimulate the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by the anterior pituitary tumor cell line AtT20/D16-16. Pretreatment with either lithium or phorbol ester desensitizes the cells to subsequent stimulation by phorbol ester. An early consequence of phorbol ester action in other systems is the translocation of protein kinase C from cytosol to membranes. We have assayed protein kinase C activity in cytosol and membranes of AtT20 cells after treatment with phorbol dibutyrate, lithium, or other agents that stimulate secretion of ACTH in these cells. Phorbol dibutyrate clearly induced translocation of protein kinase C, but lithium treatment did not cause translocation itself, nor did pretreatment with lithium affect the translocation induced by phorbol dibutyrate. These results are consistent with a role for translocation of protein kinase C in the stimulatory and desensitizing effects of phorbol esters but fail to implicate translocation in the actions of lithium on AtT20 cells.     

Osmotic activation of the Na+/H+ antiport in protein kinase C-depleted lymphocytes

The Na+/H+ antiport of rat thymic lymphocytes is activated when protein kinase C is stimulated by phorbol esters. A similar activation of the antiport is obtained when the cells are treated with hypertonic solutions. We tested the possibility that protein kinase C also mediates the osmotic activation of Na+/H+ exchange. Protein kinase C was depleted by preincubation of thymocytes for 24 hr in the presence of high concentrations of phorbol ester. Disappearance of the enzyme was assessed by direct measurement of phosphotransferase activity, and by the loss of biological responses to phorbol esters. The Na+/H+ antiport in protein kinase C-depleted cells was not stimulated by addition of phorbol ester, but responded normally to hypertonic treatment. The results indicate that the osmotic activation of countertransport does not require stimulation of protein kinase C.     

Insulin increases membrane protein kinase C activity in rat diaphragm

Calcium/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase activity (protein kinase C) was identified in rat diaphragm membrane and cytosol fractions by means of in vitro phosphorylation either of histones or of a specific 87 kDa protein substrate, combined with phosphopeptide-mapping techniques. Both insulin and tumor-promoting phorbol ester treatment of the diaphragm preparations led to increased protein kinase C activity in the membrane fractions. In contrast to the phorbol ester, however, insulin did not induce a concomitant decrease in cytosolic activity, indicating that translocation of the enzyme had not taken place. Thus, insulin appears to increase specifically membrane protein kinase C activity in rat skeletal muscle, possibly through a mechanism not identical to that induced by phorbol esters.     

Activation of protein kinase C is essential for sustained insulin secretion in response to cholinergic stimulation

Insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans is enhanced by cholinergic agonists, such as carbachol (CCh), in the presence of a stimulatory concentration of glucose. Depletion of islet protein kinase C activity by prolonged exposure to a tumour-promoting phorbol ester did not prevent the initial secretory response to CCh, but markedly reduced the duration of CCh-induced elevated secretory rates. These results suggest that the major action of PKC is in maintaining rather than initiating the insulin secretory response to cholinergic agonists.     

Subcellular distribution of CFTR in rat intestine supports a physiologic role for CFTR regulation by vesicle traffic

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a cAMP-activated chloride channel critical to intestinal anion secretion. In addition to phosphorylation, vesicle traffic regulates CFTR in some epithelial cells. Studies of cultured intestinal cells are conflicting regarding the role of cAMP-dependent vesicle traffic in regulating chloride transport. Whether CFTR is present in vesicular compartments within chloride secretory cells in the intestine is unknown and the role of cAMP-dependent vesicle insertion in regulating CFTR and intestinal fluid secretion remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to: (1) examine and quantify the subcellular distribution for CFTR in rat intestine, (2) further define the ultrastructure of the previously identified CFTR High Expresser (CHE) cell, and (3) examine the cellular distribution of CFTR following cAMP stimulation in vivo. Using the sensitive techniques of cryoimmunogold electron microscopy we identified CFTR in subapical vesicles and on the apical plasma membrane in crypt, Brunner glands, and CHE cells. cAMP stimulation in rat proximal small intestine produced a fluid secretory response and was associated with an apical redistribution of CFTR, supporting a physiologic role for cAMP-dependent CFTR vesicle insertion in regulating CFTR in the intestine.     

Protein kinase C-dependent and -independent inhibition of Ca(2+) influx by phorbol ester in rat pancreatic beta-cells

Phorbol esters were used to investigate the action of protein kinase C (PKC) on insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells. Application of 80 nM phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a PKC-activating phorbol ester, had little effect on glucose (15 mM)-induced insulin secretion from intact rat islets. In islets treated with bisindolylmaleimide (BIM), a PKC inhibitor, PMA significantly reduced the glucose-induced insulin secretion. PMA decreased the level of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) elevated by the glucose stimulation when tested in isolated rat beta-cells. This inhibitory effect of PMA was not prevented by BIM. PMA inhibited glucose-induced action potentials, and this effect was not prevented by BIM. Further, 4alpha-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate (4alpha-PDD), a non-PKC-activating phorbol ester, produced an effect similar to PMA. In the presence of nifedipine, the glucose stimulation produced only depolarization, and PMA applied on top of glucose repolarized the cell. When applied at the resting state, PMA hyperpolarized beta-cells with an increase in the membrane conductance. Recorded under the voltage-clamp condition, PMA reduced the magnitude of Ca(2+) currents through L-type Ca(2+) channels. BIM prevented the PMA inhibition of the Ca(2+) currents. These results suggest that activation of PKC maintains glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic beta-cells, defeating its own inhibition of the Ca(2+) influx through L-type Ca(2+) channels. PKC-independent inhibition of electrical excitability by phorbol esters was also demonstrated.     

Regulation of atrial natriuretic factor-(99-126) secretion from neonatal rat primary atrial cultures by activators of protein kinases A and C

Atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is stored in atrial myocytes as a prohormone (ANF-(1-126] and is cosecretionally processed to the circulating ANF-related peptides, ANF-(1-98) and ANF-(99-126). Recently, we have shown that the cosecretional processing of ANF can be replicated in primary cultures of neonatal rat atrial myocytes maintained under serum-free conditions and that glucocorticoids are responsible for supporting this processing activity. Activators of protein kinase C (phorbol esters and alpha-adrenergic agonists) and of protein kinase A (cAMP analogs, forskolin, and beta-adrenergic agonists) were tested for their abilities to alter the rate of ANF secretion from the primary cultures. ANF secretion was stimulated approximately 4-fold after a 1-h incubation of the cultures with the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA); maximal release occurred at about 100 nM TPA. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography analysis of secreted material indicated that the cells efficiently cosecretionally processed ANF under both basal and TPA-stimulated conditions. However, incubating the cultures for more than 1 h with TPA resulted in a blunted secretory response to further TPA challenge and a 40-50% decrease in the quantity of ANF in the cells. The alpha-adrenergic receptor agonist phenylephrine was also capable of stimulating ANF secretion by about 4-fold at a half-maximal dose of about 1 microM. Phenylephrine-stimulated ANF secretion was inhibited by the alpha 1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin with half-maximal inhibition occurring at approximately 1 nM. Forskolin, 8-bromoadenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate, and N6-2(1)-O-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate inhibited basal, TPA- and phenylephrine-stimulated ANF secretion. The beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol partially inhibited phenylephrine-stimulated ANF secretion with the maximal effect occurring at 1 nM. These results indicate that ANF secretion from the neonatal rat atrial cultures is enhanced by activators of protein kinase C, and decreased by activators of protein kinase A, and that these secretory effects may be mediated through the actions of alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors, respectively.     

Rapid effects of phorbol esters on isolated rat adipocytes. Relationship to the action of protein kinase C

Treatment of isolated rat adipocytes with tumor-promoting phorbol esters, caused a fivefold stimulation of glucose oxidation, determined as 14CO2 production from [1-14C]glucose and a fivefold increase in the rate of lipid synthesis from [14C]glucose. Treatment of the cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate increased the rate of 86Rb+ uptake into the cells. Also phospholipase C was able to stimulate the rate of glucose oxidation; phospholipase C and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate stimulated glucose oxidation in a non-synergistic fashion, indicating a common mechanism for their action. Active phorbol esters and, in part, also phospholipase C, caused a translocation of protein kinase C activity from the soluble to the particulate fraction of the adipocytes. This process was rapid, being complete 30 s after the addition of phorbol ester, and resulted in the appearance of the kinase mainly in the mitochondrial and plasma membrane fractions. A comparison between the binding characteristics of adipocyte protein kinase C and the metabolic effects of the phorbol esters on the adipocytes revealed that the dose-response relationship did not correlate with binding of the phorbol esters, but, rather, a correlation was observed between the dose of phorbol esters required for translocation of protein kinase C and the intracellular effects. The results indicate that the intracellular translocation of protein kinase C might be a trigger for the effects of phorbol esters on the adipocyte and that binding of the esters to protein kinase C is not a sufficient event to cause this effect. Furthermore, it is suggested that activation of protein kinase C might be partly the action of hormones, such as insulin, on the fat cells.     

Phorbol ester-induced translocation of diacylglycerol kinase from the cytosol to the membrane in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts

The tumor-promoting phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate, causes a rapid, partial redistribution of 1,2-sn-diacylglycerol kinase from the cytosol to the particulate fraction of quiescent, starved Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. We utilized exogenous dioleoylglycerol as substrate for the kinase. The inactive alpha form of the phorbol ester does not cause any change in diacylglycerol kinase localization, and depletion of protein kinase C (Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent enzyme) by chronic administration of phorbol ester blocks the redistribution. Phorbol ester has no direct effect on Swiss 3T3 membrane-bound diacylglycerol kinase nor does it directly effect cytosolic diacylglycerol kinase. When phorbol ester is added to Swiss 3T3 membranes in the presence of ATP, magnesium, and calcium, there is no activation of membrane-bound kinase, indicating that phorbol ester does not activate membrane-bound kinase through phosphorylation by protein kinase C. Reconstitution studies show that the soluble rat brain diacylglycerol kinase binds to diacylglycerol-enriched membranes, produced by treatment of red cell ghosts with phospholipase C or calcium, suggesting that cytosolic diacylglycerol kinase may be capable of translocation to the membrane in response to elevated substrate concentration in the intact cell. Stimulation of the cells with phorbol ester increases the total mass of diacylglycerol. In protein kinase C-depleted cells, addition of a cell-permeable synthetic diacylglycerol, dioctanoylglycerol, results in a partial redistribution of cytosolic diacylglycerol kinase to the membrane, by 5 min, also suggesting that the translocation of diacylglycerol kinase activity is regulated primarily by substrate concentration.     

Enhancement of glucagon secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate.

The phorbol ester 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), at concentrations of 0.1 microM and above, stimulated secretion of glucagon and of insulin from isolated rat islets of Langerhans incubated in the presence of 5.5 mM-glucose. Stimulation of secretion of both hormones by 1 microM-PMA persisted in the absence of external Ca2+, and could be abolished by incubating the islets at 4 degrees C. These findings suggest a role of protein kinase C in the alpha-cell (and beta-cell) secretory mechanism.     

Atrial natriuretic peptide secretion: synergistic effect of phorbol ester and A23187

To investigate the role of inositol phospholipid turnover in the atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) secretion, the secretory responses from isolated perfused rat hearts to the ionophore, A23187, and the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), alone or in combination, were studied. A23187 induced a sharp increase in ANP secretion, whereas TPA caused a slowly progressive increase in secretion rate. 4 alpha-phorbol-12,13-didecanoate, which lacks the ability to activate protein kinase C, had no effect on ANP secretion. The combination of A23187 and TPA stimulated ANP secretion higher than the calculated additive value for each agent. The synergistic effect of the agents suggests a role of calcium-activated protein kinase C in ANP secretion from atrial cardiocytes.     

Effects of phorbol ester and cholecystokinin on the intracellular distribution of protein kinase C in rabbit pancreatic acini.

Treatment of rabbit pancreatic acini with the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), resulted in a time- and dose-dependent decrease of soluble protein kinase C activity coinciding with an increase of protein kinase C activity in the particulate fraction. After 5 min, soluble protein kinase C activity had decreased to almost 10% of the corresponding control. Total extractable protein kinase C activity, however, remained unchanged, indicating that the decrease of soluble protein kinase C activity was not due to TPA-induced inactivation of the enzyme. The biologically inactive phorbol ester, 4 alpha-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate, did not induce such a translocation of protein kinase C. The half-maximal concentration for TPA-induced translocation of protein kinase C was 40 nM, and was equal to that for TPA-induced amylase secretion from isolated acini. This suggests that translocation of protein kinase C to the particulate fraction is an important step in TPA-induced activation of protein kinase C and enzyme secretion. On the other hand, cholecystokinin, a secretagogue of the calcium-mobilizing type, whose secretory action is thought to be mediated, at least in part, by protein kinase C, did not change the subcellular distribution of protein kinase C. In the presence of R59022 6-(2-[(4-fluorophenyl)phenylmethylene]-1-piperidinyl ) ethyl-7-methyl-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-one, an inhibitor of diacylglycerol kinase activity, cholecystokinin produced a small but significant translocation of protein kinase C, suggesting that the inability of the hormone to induce translocation is not due to a rapid conversion of the diacylglycerol formed into phosphatidic acid.     

Enteropooling assay: A test for diarrhea produced by prostaglandins

An assay (enteropooling assay) to test the diarrheogenic property of prostaglandins is described. Fasted rats are given a prostaglandin either orally or subcutaneously, and are killed 30 min later. The entire small intestine is removed and its contents collected into a test tube. The greater the volume of this intestinal fluid, the more diarrheogenic is the prostaglandin. The assay is simple, rapid, quantitative, and predictive of diarrhea. It can be used to grade the relative diarrheogenic activity of prostaglandins as well as to test agents that may block this effect.The accumulation of fluid into the small intestine is called “enteropooling”. It is the sum of (a) the fluid being excreted from the blood into the lumen, and (b) to a lesser extent, the portion of fluid already into the lumen but whose absorption is inhibited by the prostaglandin. The degree of enteropooling depends also on how much fluid flows from the small to the large intestine. Our results support the hypothesis that the diarrhea observed after administration of high doses of prostaglandins is due to accumulation of abundant fluid into the small intestine, and not intestinal hypermotility. This fluid is then carried into the large intestine and eventually expelled as diarrhea.Agents other than prostaglandins were tested for enteropooling activity. Laxatives such as castor oil, hypertonic solutions and bile salts caused enteropooling.     

Functional shift from muscarinic to nicotinic cholinergic receptors involved in inositol trisphosphate and cyclic GMP accumulation during the primary culture of adrenal chromaffin cells.

The incorporation of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP into intracellular proteins was studied in electrically permeabilized rat islets of Langerhans. Ca2+ (10 microM), cyclic AMP (100 microM) and a protein kinase C-activating phorbol ester, phorbol 13-myristate 12-acetate (PMA; 100 nM) produced marked changes in the phosphorylation state of a number of proteins in permeabilized islets after incubation for 1 min at 37 degrees C. Ca2+ modified the effects of cyclic AMP and PMA on protein phosphorylation. Noradrenaline (10 microM) had no detectable effects on Ca2+-dependent protein phosphorylation, but significantly inhibited Ca2+-induced insulin secretion from electrically permeabilized islets. These results suggest that electrically permeabilized islets offer a useful model in which to study rapid events in protein phosphorylation as a mechanism of stimulus-secretion coupling. If the rapid Ca2+-induced effects on protein phosphorylation are involved in the control of insulin secretion, the results of this study also imply that part of the catecholamine inhibition of insulin secretion occurs at a stage in the secretory pathway beyond the activation of the regulated protein kinases.     

The phorbol ester TPA induces a translocation of the insulin sensitive glucose carrier (GLUT4) in fat cells

Insulin activates the glucose transport in isolated fat cells through a translocation of the insulin sensitive glucose carrier subtype (GLUT4) and by activation of glucose carriers in the plasma membrane. Protein kinase C stimulating phorbol esters are able to mimick partially the insulin effect on glucose transport. In order to determine whether this phorbol ester effect occurs through a translocation of the insulin sensitive glucose carrier (GLUT4) we used a monoclonal antibody against GLUT4 to determine its distribution in subcellular fractions of rat adipocytes. We found that the phorbol ester TPA is able to increase the amount of GLUT4 in the plasma membrane fraction about two-fold.     

Phorbol esters, but not insulin, promote depletion of cytosolic protein kinase C in rat adipocytes

The tumor-promoting phorbol esters have insulinomimetic effects in several tissues. Employing two different assay systems, we have compared the effects of phorbol ester and insulin on the activity and intracellular distribution of the Ca++ and phospholipid dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) in isolated rat adipocytes. Phorbol ester leads to a prompt depletion of kinase activity from the cytosolic fraction and appearance of activity in membrane extracts; neither of these effects is mimicked by insulin. These results, taken together with other data, emphasize important divergences between the actions of these agonists and suggest that changes in protein kinase C activity or intracellular distribution are not a necessary concomitant of the cascade of insulin action.