A pH-dependent phospholipase A2 contributes to loss of plasma membrane integrity during chemical hypoxia in rat hepatocytes

Previous studies have suggested that alterations in phospholipid composition of plasma membranes may underlie lethal cell injury due to hypoxic and ischemic injury. The present study was designed to determine if such alterations are due to the activation of a pH-dependent phospholipase A2. Loss of cell viability and phospholipase A2 activity measured by arachidonic acid release increased in parallel during metabolic inhibition with KCN and iodoacetate (chemical hypoxia). Acidosis (pH 6.5) and the phospholipase inhibitors, dibucaine and mepacrine, delayed loss of cell viability and release of arachidonic acid to a similar extent. These findings suggest that a pH-dependent phospholipase A2 causes alterations in plasma membrane phospholipid composition after ATP-depletion which contribute to lethal cell injury.     

The interrelationship of the processes of lipid peroxidation and lipid phospholipase hydrolysis in the synaptosomes

The influence of Fe2+, alpha-tocopherol, phospholipase A2 and mepacrine on the activity of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and phospholipid hydrolysis (PLH) was studied in synaptosomes. It was established that there is the tight direct interconnection between LPO and PLH in synaptosomes. It is assumed that activation of endogenous phospholipases in neurons is one of the causes of uncompensated LPO-activation during epileptogenesis.     

Mobilization of arachidonic acid in thrombin-stimulated human platelets

In the present work we investigated the effect of serine esterase inhibitors such as 2-nitro-4-carboxyphenyl N,N-diphenylcarbamate (NCDC) and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), as well as the effect of mepacrine on thrombin-induced mobilization of arachidonic acid (AA) in human platelets. The inhibitor NCDC (0.6 mM) completely abolished the thrombin-induced activation of phospholipase C, phospholipase A2, and transacylase enzymes, whereas the pretreatment of platelets with PMSF (2 mM) resulted in a highly selective inhibition of phospholipase A2 and transacylase activities, with no marked effect on thrombin-induced activation of phospholipase C. The thrombin-induced release of [3H]AA from phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol was reduced by 90 and 56%, respectively, in the presence of PMSF. This inhibitor also caused a parallel inhibition in the accumulation of [3H]AA (85%) with little effect on thrombin-induced formation of [3H]phosphatidic acid (5%), whereas mepacrine (0.4 mM) caused a selective inhibition of phospholipase A2 and transacylase activities with concomitant stimulation of [3H]phosphatidic acid formation in intact human platelets. These results demonstrate that NCDC and PMSF (serine esterase inhibitors) do not affect agonist-induced activation of phospholipases that mobilize arachidonic acid through a common site. Our results further demonstrate that the inhibition of [3H]AA release observed in the presence of NCDC, PMSF, and mepacrine is primarily due to their direct effects on enzyme activities, rather than due to their indirect effects through formation of complexes between inhibitors and membrane phospholipids. Based upon these results, we also conclude that the combined hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol by phospholipase A2 serves as a major source for eicosanoid biosynthesis in thrombin-stimulated human platelets.     

Phospholipid metabolism and prostacyclin synthesis in hypoxic myocytes.

We observed that in hypoxic myocardial cells prostacyclin and arachidonic acid release increased and that during hypoxia phospholipid degradation also occurred. In order to clarify the mechanism of phospholipid degradation, we determined the activity of phospholipases A2 and C. We found that phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were markedly decreased and that lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine were increased. In contrast, there was only slight phosphatidylinositol degradation and no lysophosphatidylinositol elevation was observed. These results show that phospholipase A2 was activated in hypoxic myocytes and had substrate specificity towards PC and PE. To study phospholipase C activity, membrane phospholipids were labeled with [3H]choline, [3H]inositol or [3H]ethanolamine. The release of inositol was observed, but neither choline nor ethanolamine was released. In hypoxia, myocardial-cell phospholipase C has high substrate specificity towards phosphatidylinositol. The activation of phospholipases is closely related to the intracellular Ca2+ concentration; it is though that inositol polyphosphatides may regulate intracellular Ca2+. We determined how Ca2+ influx occurs in hypoxia. beta-Adrenergic blockade and Ca2+ antagonists markedly suppressed Ca2+ influx, phospholipase A2 activity, phospholipase C activity and cell death. However, the alpha 1-adrenergic blockade was less effective in suppressing these phenomena. These results suggest that in hypoxic myocardial cells Ca2+ influx mediated by beta-adrenergic stimulation activates phospholipases A2 and C, and that phospholipid degradation and prostacyclin release then occur.     

Activation of phospholipase A2 and beta-thromboglobulin release in human platelets: comparative effects of thrombin and fluoroaluminate stimulation.

Several reports have suggested that the activity of platelet phospholipase A2 is modulated by GTP-binding protein(s) whose nature and properties need to be defined. Fluoroaluminate is known to activate G-proteins and this leads to a number of cellular responses including the activation of phospholipases. This paper demonstrates that human platelets, prelabelled with [3H]arachidonic acid, produce free arachidonic acid when stimulated with fluoroaluminate and this effect is time- and dose-dependent. The production of arachidonic acid is not inhibited by neomycin, a PI-cycle inhibitor, but is completely abolished by mepacrine, an inhibitor of both phospholipase A2 and C. At low concentration of fluoroaluminate (10 mM NaF) phospholipase A2 but not phospholipase C is activated. In addition, fluoroaluminate treatment releases beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and this effect is not inhibited by acetylsalicylic acid. Under identical conditions both neomycin and mepacrine suppress the release of arachidonic acid and beta-TG induced by thrombin. Sodium nitroprusside, which increases cGMP levels in platelets, inhibits arachidonic acid liberation and beta-TG release in thrombin-stimulated platelets but has no effect in fluoroaluminate-treated platelets; cGMP was reported to suppress phospholipase C activation. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that, in thrombin-stimulated platelets, the liberation of arachidonic acid and beta-TG are strictly dependent on the activation of phospholipase C. We have also provided evidence for the existence of a phospholipase A2 activated by a G-protein which is independent from the degradation of phosphoinositides and, contrary to phospholipase C, it is not down regulated by cGMP.     

Arachidonic acid releasing systems in pig aorta endothelial cells

Endothelial cells synthesize prostacyclin both from platelet-derived endoperoxides and from the arachidonic acid released from its intracellular stores. The mechanisms controlling this release does not appear to be mediated through phospholipid methylation but by means of phosphoinositide hydrolysis. As yet two possible mechanisms have so far been proposed to regulate arachidonic acid release in a number of cellular systems: phospholipase C-controlled phospholipase A2 activity or phospholipase C-diglyceride lipase system. The results presented here show that using phospholipases inhibitors is not a reliable strategy to study arachidonic acid release in cultures of endothelial cells. Our data also strongly suggest that the release of prostacyclin may be accounted in these cells for by a phospholipase C-diglyceride lipase system.     

Alpha 1-adrenergic receptor-mediated phosphoinositide hydrolysis and prostaglandin E2 formation in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Possible parallel activation of phospholipase C and phospholipase A2

alpha 1-Adrenergic receptors mediate two effects on phospholipid metabolism in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK-D1) cells: hydrolysis of phosphoinositides and arachidonic acid release with generation of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The similarity in concentration dependence for the agonist (-)-epinephrine in eliciting these two responses implies that they are mediated by a single population of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors. However, we find that the kinetics of the two responses are quite different, PGE2 production occurring more rapidly and transiently than the hydrolysis of phosphoinositides. The antibiotic neomycin selectively decreases alpha 1-receptor-mediated phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate hydrolysis without decreasing alpha 1-receptor-mediated arachidonic acid release and PGE2 generation. In addition, receptor-mediated inositol trisphosphate formation is independent of extracellular calcium, whereas release of labeled arachidonic acid is largely calcium-dependent. Moreover, based on studies obtained with labeled arachidonic acid, receptor-mediated generation of arachidonic acid cannot be accounted for by breakdown of phosphatidylinositol monophosphate, phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate, or phosphatidic acid. Further studies indicate that epinephrine produces changes in formation or turnover of several classes of membrane phospholipids in MDCK cells. We conclude that alpha 1-adrenergic receptors in MDCK cells appear to regulate phospholipid metabolism by the parallel activation of phospholipase C and phospholipase A2. This parallel activation of phospholipases contrasts with models described in other systems which imply sequential activation of phospholipase C and diacylglycerol lipase or phospholipase A2.     

Cross-talk between receptor-regulated phospholipase D and phospholipase C in brain

Because receptors, G proteins, and phospholipases all exist within a membrane lipid environment, it is not unreasonable to assume that an enzyme capable of changing the lipid environment can affect the coupling relationship among these signal transducing components. Our previous study showed that a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor regulates phosphatidylcholine phospholipase D via a G protein in brain. We demonstrate here that phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C and phosphatidylcholine phospholipase D are simultaneously activated within 15 s by muscarine in the presence of 1 microM GTP gamma S. More important, inhibition of phospholipase D by zinc attenuated carbamylcholine-induced activation of phospholipase C by 30%. Our additional evidence strongly indicates that the receptor-regulated phospholipase D plays an important modulatory role in agonist-stimulated phosphatidylinositol breakdown. This modulatory effect may be achieved by changing the membrane microenvironment in which phospholipase C and phosphoinositol lipids reside, consequently amplifying the inositol phospholipid signaling process. Our results lead us to postulate that the potential interaction between two different signaling pathways may provide a cell with intracellular coordination and enable the cell to achieve functional responses.     

Preferential hydrolysis of peroxidized phospholipid by lysosomal phospholipase C

The susceptibility of partially peroxidized liposomes of 2-[1-14C] linoleoylphosphatidylethanolamine ([14C]PE) to hydrolysis by cellular phospholipases was examined. [14C]PE was peroxidized by exposure to air at 37 degrees C, resulting in the formation of more polar derivatives, as determined by thin-layer chromatographic analysis. Hydrolysis of these partially peroxidized liposomes by lysosomal phospholipase C associated with cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum, and by rat liver lysosomal phospholipase C, was greater than hydrolysis of non-peroxidized liposomes. By contrast, hydrolysis of liposomes by purified human synovial fluid phospholipase A2 or bacterial phospholipase C was almost completely inhibited by partial peroxidation of PE. Lysosomal phospholipase C preferentially hydrolyzed the peroxidized component of the lipid substrate which had accumulated during autoxidation. The major product recovered under these conditions was 2-monoacylglycerol, indicating sequential degradation by phospholipase C and diacylglycerol lipase. Liposomes peroxidized at pH 7.0 were more susceptible to hydrolysis by lysosomal phospholipases C than were liposomes peroxidized at pH 5.0, in spite of greater production of polar lipid after peroxidation at pH 5.0. Sodium bisulfite, an antioxidant and an inhibitor of lysosomal phospholipases, prevented: (1) lipid autoxidation, (2) hydrolysis of both non-peroxidized and peroxidized liposomes by sarcoplasmic reticulum and (3) loss of lipid phosphorus from endogenous lipids when sarcoplasmic reticulum was incubated at pH 5.0. These studies show that lipid peroxidation may modulate the susceptibility of phospholipid to attack by specific phospholipases, and may therefore be an important determinant in membrane dysfunction during injury. Preservation of membrane structural and functional integrity by antioxidants may result from inhibition of lipid peroxidation, which in turn may modulate cellular phospholipase activity.     

Effect of phospholipases A2 from bee and cobra venom on the phospholipid composition and Na+-,K+-ATPase activity of synaptosomes

The bee and cobra venom phospholipases A2 as well as partially acetylated cobra venom phospholipase A2 are studied for their effect on phospholipid composition of synaptosomes and their Mg2+- and Na+,K+-ATPase activity. It is established that these phospholipases induce the splitting of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine, inhibition of the Na+,K+-ATPase activity and activation of Mg2+-ATPase. Bee venom phospholipase A2 is more effective than cobra venom phospholipase A2, the both phospholipases splitting phosphatidylethanolamine most intensively. The ATPase activity may be partially or completely restored by exogenic phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine; exogenic phosphatidylethanolamine is not efficient in this respect.     

Role of phospholipases in myocardial ischemia: effect of cardioprotective agents on the phospholipases A of heart cytosol and sarcoplasmic reticulum in vitro

Increased breakdown of myocardial phospholipids to fatty acids and lysophosphoglycerides is an early feature of myocardial ischemic injury and many investigators believe that enhanced phospholipase action is an important factor in the process. Several recent reports indicate that inhibitors of phospholipase A, such as mepacrine, chloroquine and chlorpromazine, can prevent heart phosphoglyceride breakdown in vivo. We isolated the phospholipases A from rat heart cytosol and sarcoplasmic reticulum and examined the effects of various cardioprotective substances on their activity. Most of the cardioprotective agents studied inhibited the heart phospholipases in vitro, providing further evidence that phospholipid degradation in ischemic myocardial injury may be modulated by pharmacologic agents.     

Low power microwave interaction with phospholipase C and D signal transduction pathways in myogenic cells

Ionic channel proteins are possible sites of microwave interaction at the cell membrane level. Patch-clamp data, using single channel and total current recording, indicated that low level microwave fields may modify some functional parameters of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in primary chick myotubes, suggesting a possible effect of microwaves on myogenic cells. Here, we investigated the biological relevance of such results, in relation to the possible involvement of intracellular signaling processes. We exposed L6-C5 myogenic cells to low power electromagnetic fields and observed the consequences on hormonal activation of phospholipases C and D. We found that increased inositol phospholipid turnover, induced by acetylcholine and arginine vasopressin activation of phospholipase C, was not modified in microwave irradiated myoblasts or myotubes. Moreover, vasopressin-dependent phospholipase D activation, assessed by measuring the [3H]-free choline release, was not modified by microwave irradiation. Our conclusions suggest that low level microwave fields do not modify signal transduction pathways activated by acetylcholine and vasopressin in L6-C5 myogenic cells.     

Possible involvement of cytoskeleton in collagen-stimulated activation of phospholipases in human platelets

The action of phospholipases A2 and C in the course of collagen-stimulated platelet activation and the effect of cytochalasins on the responses were studied. Stimulation of human platelets with collagen was accompanied by aggregation, Ca2+ mobilization, inositol phosphate formation, and arachidonic acid release. However, in the presence of a cyclooxygenase inhibitor or a thromboxane A2 (TXA2) receptor antagonist, collagen induced only weak arachidonic acid release and weak inositol phosphate formation. The TXA2 mimetic agonist U46619 induced all the responses except for arachidonic acid release, which was induced by synergistic action of collagen and U46619. The result that U46619 did not induce arachidonic acid release despite the activation of phospholipase C suggested that arachidonic acid was not released via phospholipase C but by phospholipase A2. These findings suggested that collagen initially induced weak activation of phospholipases A2 and C and that further activation of phospholipase C as well as Ca2+ mobilization and aggregation were induced by TXA2, whereas further activation of phospholipase A2 required the synergistic action of collagen and TXA2. Platelets pretreated with cytochalasins did not respond to collagen. Further analysis revealed that the initial activation of phospholipases A2 and C was specifically inhibited by cytochalasins, but the responses induced by U46619 or a synergistic action of collagen and U46619 were not inhibited. Therefore, we proposed that interaction of collagen receptor with actin filaments might have some roles in the collagen-induced initial activation of phospholipases.     

Membrane interactions of rat intestinal alkaline phosphatase: role of polar head groups

Lipid-protein interactions with purified membranous intestinal alkaline phosphatase have been studied by using rat intestine. The enzyme was incorporated equally well into neutral lecithin and anionic liposomes, including those made from phosphatidic acid alone. It could not be solubilized with chaotropic salts nor by phospholipases C and D from either native membranes or phospholipid vesicles. Detergents effected nearly complete release of enzyme from the vesicles. Phosphatase activity was lost upon treatment with phospholipase D alone. The activity was restored with free choline, or choline containing phospholipids, but not by the addition of other phospholipids or amines. The catalytic activity was also lower when the enzyme was bound to a phosphatidylcholine vesicle containing additional phosphatidic acid. Neither phosphatidylserine nor phosphatidylinositol addition altered enzyme activity. These results show that the enzyme binds to the membrane by a primary hydrophobic interaction with membrane phospholipids without requiring the polar head group and that the enzyme activity is affected via a secondary interaction with choline. We suggest that choline protects the active site of brush border alkaline phosphatase from inhibition by endogenous membrane phosphate groups.     

Phospholipase C and phospholipase A2 are involved in the antiviral activity of human interferon-alpha

Treatment of human amniotic cells (UAC) with human interferon-alpha (Hu-IFN alpha) or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) resulted in translocation of protein kinase C (PK-C) activity from the cytosol fraction to that of the membranes. Analysis of 32P incorporation into phospholipid fractions and studies of alterations in fatty acid content for the major phospholipids of IFN-treated cells suggest that phospholipases C and A2 are activated by Hu-IFN alpha. Addition of neomycin (an inhibitor of phospholipase C), as well as mepacrine (an inhibitor of phospholipase A2) to IFN-treated cells inhibited the antiviral activity of Hu-IFN alpha in the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-UAC system used. These observations indicate that (i) activation of PK-C and (ii) diacylglycerol formation, arachidonic acid and/or lysophosphatidylcholine release are important steps in the mechanism of action of IFN.     

Activation of phospholipase hydrolysis in the process of oxidative cell damage]

Effect of tert-butyl hydroperoxide toxic action on phospholipase A2 activity and the changes in phospholipid composition from mastocytoma P815 cells were investigated. Oxidative damage of tumor cell membranes was accompanied by the release of arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipids and the accumulation of lysophosphatidylcholine, the product of phospholipase A2 reaction and a potent detergent. Tert-butyl hydroperoxide also increased relative contents of sphingomyelin, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidic acid in tumor cell membranes. It is possible that phospholipase A2 activation and the changes of phospholipid molecular species contents may cause the damage of cell membrane stability.     

Inhibition of phospholipid hydrolysis by phospholipase A2 in microsomal and mitochondrial membranes subjected to lipid peroxidation

The rate of phospholipid hydrolysis in rat liver microsomal and mitochondrial membranes catalyzed by phospholipase A2 was shown to decrease after ascorbate + Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation. The degree of inhibition was linearly dependent on the amount of lipid peroxidation products (malonyl dialdehyde) accumulated in the membrane. The decreased phospholipid hydrolysis rate in membranes after lipid peroxidation was registered using phospholipases A2 from two sources: porcine pancreas and bee venom. It was established that the inhibitory action of phospholipid peroxidation products was not linked with a direct effect on the enzyme and was not caused by depletion of phospholipase reaction substrates (as a result of lipid peroxidation). A possible role of lateral separation of oxidized and non-oxidized lipid phases in the mechanisms of inhibition of phospholipid hydrolysis by phospholipase A2 is discussed.     

Choline release and inhibition of phosphatidylcholine synthesis precede excitotoxic neuronal death but not neurotoxicity induced by serum deprivation

N-Methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor overactivation has been proposed to induce excitotoxic neuronal death by enhancing membrane phospholipid degradation. In previous studies, we have shown that NMDA releases choline and reduces membrane phosphatidylcholine in vivo. We now observed that glutamate and NMDA induce choline release in primary neuronal cortical cell cultures. This effect is Ca(2+)-dependent and is blocked by MK-801 ((+)-5-methyl-10, 11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate). In cortical neurons, the NMDA receptor-mediated choline release precedes excitotoxic cell death but not neuronal death induced by either osmotic lysis or serum deprivation. Glutamate, at concentrations that release arachidonic acid, does not release choline in cerebellar granule cells, unless these cells are rendered susceptible to excitotoxic death by energy deprivation. The NMDA-evoked release of choline is not mediated by phospholipases A(2) or C. Moreover, NMDA does not activate phospholipase D in cortical cells. However, NMDA inhibits incorporation of [methyl-(3)H]choline into both membrane phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin. These results show that the increase in extracellular choline induced by NMDA receptor activation is directly related with excitotoxic cell death and indicate that choline release is an early event of the excitotoxic process produced by inhibition of phosphatidylcholine synthesis and not by activation of membrane phospholipid degradation.     

The role of phospholipase A activity in rat liver microsomal lipid peroxidation

The involvement of phospholipase(s) A in lipid peroxidation of rat liver microsomes was investigated by: (a) determining the effects of phospholipase A inhibitors (p-bromophenylacyl bromide, chlorpromazine, mepacrine) on the accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactivity or on levels of oxidized phospholipids in response to selected oxidative stimuli and (b) measurement of phospholipase A activities in response to these agents. Lipid peroxidation in response to various peroxidation systems was inhibited completely by exposure of microsomes to p-bromophenylacyl bromide (250 microM). The effectiveness of p-bromophenylacyl bromide was dependent on the presence of glutathione (200 microM) in preincubation mixtures. Chlorpromazine (100 microM) and mepacrine (100 microM) also effectively inhibited peroxidation, and their potency was independent of glutathione. The accumulation of oxidized phospholipids in response to the potent peroxidation stimulus alloxan/ferrous ion was similarly inhibited by p-bromophenylacyl bromide, although the level of oxidized phospholipid in response to the initiator ADP/ferrous ion was not affected. Microsomal phospholipase A1 activity, assessed using a liposomal substrate, was substantially enhanced by promoters of lipid peroxidation. Phospholipase A2 activity was not detected using a liposomal substrate but was evident using radiolabeled microsomes as endogenous substrate and was enhanced by oxidative stimuli. We conclude that phospholipase A activity may play an integral role in the microsomal lipid peroxidation mechanism. Based on this study, we hypothesize a role for phospholipases in facilitating propagation reactions.