Effects of phorbol esters on steroidogenesis in small bovine luteal cells

The possible influence of an activator of protein kinase C, the tumor-promoting phorbol ester, PMA (phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate), upon small bovine luteal cell steroidogenesis was investigated in vitro, PMA had no significant effect on basal and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP)-stimulated progesterone production but markedly modulated the LH-stimulated progesterone and cAMP productions. PMA potentiated the LH-stimulated cAMP accumulation whatever the dose of LH used. It also potentiated the LH-induced progesterone production in the presence of low doses of LH. Paradoxically, in the presence of maximal or submaximal effective doses of LH, PMA exerted a time- and dose-dependent inhibition of progesterone synthesis. Diacylglycerol was able to mimic the effects of PMA on LH-induced steroidogenesis. These observations suggest that the Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C can modulate the regulation by LH of small bovine luteal cell steroidogenesis at a step before the synthesis of cAMP. They also suggest that the interaction between LH and its receptor is able to trigger a negative regulatory signal which would be only expressed for high doses of LH and in the presence of an activator of PKC.     

Possible role for arachidonic acid in the control of steroidogenesis in hen theca

Studies were conducted to evaluate if arachidonic acid (C20:4) could function as a second messenger within theca cells from the second largest preovulatory (F2) follicle from the ovary of the domestic hen. Arachidonic acid stimulated basal progesterone and androstenedione production, but inhibited LH-induced androstenedione production. The stimulatory effects of arachidonic acid were not altered by either cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase pathway inhibitors (indomethacin and nordihydroguaiaretic acid, respectively), but were blocked by agents that prevented mobilization and/or efflux of calcium (TMB-8 and verapamil). The inhibitory effects of arachidonic acid on LH-stimulated steroidogenesis were determined to occur both prior and subsequent to cAMP formation. Fifty and 100 microM arachidonic acid attenuated LH- (10 ng) and forskolin- (0.2 microM) induced cAMP levels, and decreased androstenedione and estradiol production following treatment with 8-bromo-cAMP. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and the calcium ionophore, A23187, stimulated the release of 3H from theca cells prelabeled with [3H]arachidonic acid, and both PLA2 and the closely related fatty acid, eicosatrienoic acid (C20:3), could replicate the inhibitory effects of arachidonic acid on LH-stimulated androstenedione production. Finally, neither indomethacin nor nordihydroguaiaretic acid blocked the inhibitory effects of arachidonic acid on LH-promoted androstenedione production. We conclude that arachidonic acid can be released within theca cells in response to physiologic (PLA2) and pharmacologic agents (A23187), and accordingly, that it may act directly as a second messenger to modulate both basal and LH-stimulated steroid production.     

Arachidonic acid inhibits luteinizing hormone-stimulated progesterone production in hen granulosa cells

Arachidonic acid has been proposed to function as a hormone-induced second messenger in a variety of mammalian endocrine tissues. The present studies were conducted to evaluate whether arachidonic acid, either added exogenously or released endogenously following treatment with physiologic (phospholipase A2) or pharmacologic (melittin) agents, influences basal and/or luteinizing hormone (LH)-induced cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) and progesterone production in granulosa cells from domestic hens. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and melittin treatments failed to alter basal concentrations of progesterone, whereas arachidonic acid had a slight stimulatory effect (only at the 50-microM dose) on progesterone levels, and no effect on cAMP. By contrast, arachidonic acid, PLA2, and melittin each inhibited LH-promoted progesterone production in a dose-dependent fashion. The inhibitory effects of arachidonic acid on the progesterone response were determined to occur both prior and subsequent to cAMP formation since cAMP levels in arachidonic acid-treated cells were attenuated after treatment with 10 ng LH or 100 microM forskolin (at 10- to 100-microM doses of arachidonic acid), and progesterone production was decreased in the presence of 1 mM 8-bromo-cAMP (with 50 and 100 microM arachidonic acid). The post-cAMP mechanism of action is characterized by the inability of cells to convert 25-hydroxy-cholesterol, but not pregnenolone, to progesterone. The effects of arachidonic acid are probably direct, since pharmacologic inhibitors of the lipoxygenase (nordihydroguaiaretic acid) and cyclooxygenase (indomethacin) pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism failed to alter the suppression of     

Attenuation of hen granulosa cell steroidogenesis by a phorbol ester and 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol

A series of studies was conducted to evaluate the effects of phorbol esters and a diacylglycerol analog on basal and hormone-stimulated steroidogenesis in granulosa cells from the largest preovulatory follicle of the domestic hen. Agents that previously have been shown to activate protein kinase C, such as the tumor-promoting phorbol ester, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and the synthetic diacylglycerol analog, 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol (OAG), suppressed luteinizing hormone (LH)-induced progesterone (PMA at levels of 10 and 100 ng/tube; OAG at levels of 10 and 25 micrograms/tube), and androgen (10 and 100 ng PMA; 25 micrograms OAG) production, but had no effect on basal levels of either steroid. Furthermore, PMA decreased the ability of vasoactive intestinal peptide to induce steroidogenesis, suggesting that protein kinase C activation may generally modulate the activity of hormones that act via the adenylyl cyclase/cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) second messenger system. In further support of this proposal was the finding that PMA and OAG decreased the production of cAMP in response to LH, and attenuated the steroidogenic response in granulosa cells exposed to 10 mM 8-bromo-cAMP. By contrast, the induction of calcium mobilization using a calcium ionophore (A23187; 0.5-2.0 microM) stimulated progesterone and androgen production without increasing intracellular levels of cAMP, and this stimulatory effect on steroidogenesis was not inhibited by the presence of 100 ng PMA/tube. From these data, we suggest that the activation of protein kinase C in granulosa cells of the hen may provide a physiological mechanism by which receptor-mediated steroidogenesis, involving the adenylyl cyclase second messenger system, is modulated.     

CD2 triggering stimulates a phospholipase A2 activity beside the phospholipase C pathway in human T lymphocytes

In previous studies we demonstrated the triggering of the phospholipase C (PLC) pathway during the activation of an Ag-specific human CD4+ T lymphocyte clone by a mitogenic pair of CD2 (X11,D66) mAb. Similar conditions were applied to investigate a possible involvement of a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) acting as an additional alternative pathway during human T cell activation. Our results show that arachidonic acid or its derivatives are released after CD2 triggering. This release is largely independent of PLC activation and is mediated by a PLA2 because: 1) phosphatidylcholine is the preferential source of [3H]arachidonate release; 2) [3H]arachidonic acid release and phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis are blocked by two inhibitors of solubilized PLA2, mepacrine, and 4-p-bromophenacylbromide; and 3) we evidenced a PLA2 activity in cell homogenates. Extracellular calcium appears to play a critical role because the effects of CD2 mAb were inhibited in a Ca2(+)-depleted medium. In contrast, protein kinase C is not implicated since PMA, a protein kinase C activator, neither stimulated arachidonic acid release nor modulated CD2-induced arachidonic acid release. Cyclic AMP which has been proved to regulate the activity of the PLC in T lymphocytes does not appear to play an important role in the regulation of PLA2 activity since PGE2 has only a minimal effect on [3H]-arachidonate release. Altogether, these findings suggest that CD2 triggering stimulates a PLA2 activity in T lymphocytes via an extracellular Ca2(+)-dependent PLC protein kinase C independent mechanism.     

Epidermal growth factor enhances glomerular mesangial cell soluble phospholipase A2 activity

We have previously characterized a hormonally regulated soluble form of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in the cultured renal mesangial cell which is similar and possibly identical to the major form in rat kidney. In an attempt to further characterize the mechanisms of regulation of this enzyme we have used epidermal growth factor (EGF), which does not activate polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C in these cells. EGF-enhanced PLA2 activity as assayed by the ability of the soluble extracts of cells to cleave arachidonic acid from the sn-2 position of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. This represents a direct demonstration of EGF-induced PLA2 activation which is preserved in a cell-free extract. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), as well as 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol, also enhanced PLA2 activity. By contrast, the calcium ionophore A23187 had no effect on extract PLA2 activity. The EGF- and PMA-induced enhanced activity was recovered following fractionation by Mono-Q anion exchange chromatography. The peak of activity comigrated for both agonists, suggesting that both EGF and PMA stimulated the same form of the enzyme. Down-regulation of protein kinase C by pretreatment with PMA resulted in loss of the PMA-induced, but not the EGF-induced, enhancement in PLA2 activity. 8-Bromo-cAMP had no effect upon the PLA2 activity, and did not modulate the EGF effect. Pertussis toxin induced G protein ADP-ribosylation but had no effect upon PLA2 activity, and did not alter the EGF effect. In summary, EGF results in a stable modification of PLA2 activity in glomerular mesangial cells. This enhanced activity is independent of polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis, insensitive to protein kinase C down-regulation, and is not affected by cAMP or pertussis toxin pretreatment of the cells.     

Synergistic stimulating effect between cyclic AMP and phorbol ester on plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 production in human promyelocytic leukemia cell line PL-21.

We investigated the effect of agents which raise intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) and protein kinase C activators on the production of plasminogen activator inhibitor type-2 (PAI-2) by cultured human promyelocytic leukemia cell line, PL-21. As previously reported, PMA, a protein kinase C activator, showed a strong stimulating effect on the PAI-2 production. 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG), another synthetic protein kinase C activator, also showed a stimulating effect, which was, however, much less than that of PMA. The agents which raise intracellular cAMP, dibutyryl cAMP, 8-bromo cAMP, prostaglandin E1, and 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine, little increased the PAI-2 production when tested alone, but showed significant synergistic effects with PMA or OAG. The synergistic effect between PMA and dibutyryl cAMP was further verified by SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting using a monoclonal antibody against the PAI-2. It is interesting that the up-regulation of PAI-2 by cAMP and the synergistic effect with PKC activators forms a contrast to the previous reported bi-directional regulation of endothelial PAI-1 secretion by PKC activator and cAMP.     

Modulation of synovial fibroblast plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor production by protein kinase C.

Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) added to human synovial fibroblast cultures caused a dose-dependent increase in the production of plasminogen activator inhibitor-type 1 (PAI-1). In addition, PMA inhibited endogenous and interleukin-1 (IL-1) induced plasminogen activator (PA) activity, while increasing mRNA PAI-1 levels. Other protein kinase C (PKC) activators, mezerein and teleocidin B4, caused similar effects. The simultaneous addition of the PKC antagonists, H-7 or staurosporine, prevented the inhibition of PA activity by PMA. This study shows that activation of PKC inhibits PA and stimulates PAI production in human synovial fibroblasts. These results suggest that activation of PKC may play an important role in regulating increased PA production associated with joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).     

Interleukin-1 stimulation of arachidonic acid release from human synovial fibroblasts; blockade by inhibitors of protein kinases and protein synthesis

Addition of IL-1 (interleukin-1) to human synovial fibroblasts radiolabelled with [3H]arachidonic acid caused a linear dose-dependent increase in arachidonic acid release and a transient rise in labelled diacylglycerol. Protein kinase C activators PMA 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and DiC8 (1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol) also increased arachidonic acid release, but the time course observed with PMA was different from that of IL-1. When cultures were treated with PMA for 16-24 h to down regulate protein kinase C, the ability of IL-1 to increase arachidonic acid release persisted to the same extent as in nontreated cultures. In contrast, PMA pretreatment prevented the eight-fold stimulation of arachidonic acid release in response to PMA observed in cultures not previously exposed to PMA. To examine the role of other kinases in IL-1 stimulated arachidonic acid release, cultures were treated with H-7 (1-(5-isoquinolinesulphonyl)-2-methylpiperazine dichloride), H-8 (N-[2-(methylamino) ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulphonamide dichloride), HA1004 (N-(2-guanidoinoethyl)-5-isoquinolinesulphonamide hydrochloride), and staurosporine. IL-1 stimulation of arachidonic acid release was blocked by H-7, H-8 and staurosporine. H-7 was a more potent inhibitor than H-8, suggesting that cAMP dependent kinase did not mediate IL-1 action. Addition of H-7 at various times following IL-1 decreased IL-1 stimulated arachidonic acid release, suggesting that continued protein kinase activity was necessary for IL-1 action. Cycloheximide and actinomycin D inhibited the stimulation of arachidonic acid release by IL-1, PMA or DiC8. The addition of cycloheximide or actinomycin D 15-45 min after IL-1 also inhibited IL-1 stimulated arachidonic acid release, indicating that continued protein synthesis was required for IL-1 action. These results suggest that IL-1 stimulation of acylhydrolyase activity in human synovial cells occurs by a mechanism requiring continued protein synthesis and protein kinase activity and that neither protein kinase C nor cAMP dependent protein kinase is involved.     

Differential actions of phorbol ester and diacylglycerol on inhibition of granulosa cell maturation

Hormonal induction of granulosa cell maturation is inhibited by phorbol esters and permeant synthetic diacylglycerols, but these activators of protein kinase C differ in their effects on cAMP production and actions. Both agents prevented the induction of luteinizing hormone receptors and progesterone biosynthesis by follicle-stimulating hormone, choleragen, and forskolin, but only diacylglycerol abolished the cAMP responses to these stimuli. Granulosa cell aggregation and aromatase activity were inhibited by phorbol ester but not completely by diacylglycerol. In intact granulosa cells, cytosolic C kinase activity was rapidly decreased by phorbol ester but unaffected by diacylglycerol. Although diacylglycerol has a marked inhibitory action on cAMP production, the more prominent suppression of granulosa cell differentiation by phorbol ester may be related to its rapid and prolonged action on kinase C.     

Purification and characterization of a highly thermostable novel pullulanase from Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum.

The presence of a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity in rabbit neutrophil membrane preparation that is able to release [1-14C]oleic acid from labelled Escherichia coli has been demonstrated. The activity is critically dependent on the free calcium concentration and marginally stimulated by GTP gamma S. More than 80% of maximal activity is reached at 10 microM-Ca2+. The chemotactic factor, fMet-Leu-Phe, does not stimulate the PLA2 activity in this membrane preparation. Pretreatment of the membrane preparation, under various experimental conditions, or intact cells, before isolation of the membrane with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), does not affect PLA2 activity. Addition of the catalytic unit of cyclic AMP-dependent kinase to membrane preparation has no effect on PLA2 activity. Pretreatment of the intact neutrophil with dibutyryl-cAMP before isolation of the membrane produces a small but consistent increase in PLA2 activity. The activity of PLA2 in membrane isolated from cells treated with the protein kinase inhibitor 1-(5-isoquinolinesulphonyl)-2-methyl piperazine dihydrochloride (H-7) is significantly decreased. Furthermore, although the addition of PMA to intact rabbit neutrophils has no effect on the release of [3H]arachidonic acid from prelabelled cells, it potentiates significantly the release produced by the calcium ionophore A23187. This potentiation is not due to an inhibition of the acyltransferase activity. H-7 inhibits the basal release of arachidonic acid but does not inhibit the potentiation by PMA. These results suggest several points. (1) fMet-Leu-Phe does not stimulate PLA2 directly, and its ability to release arachidonic acid in intact neutrophils is mediated through its action on phospholipase C. (2) The potentiating effect of PMA on A23187-induced arachidonic acid release is most likely due to PMA affecting either the environment of PLA2 and/or altering the organization of membrane phospholipids in such a way as to increase their susceptibility to hydrolysis. (3) The intracellular level of cyclic AMP probably does not directly affect the activity of PLA2.     

Protein kinase C modulates effects of prostanoids on cyclic adenosine monophosphate in guinea pig chief cells

In the course of examining the role of protein kinase C in signal transduction in dispersed chief cells from guinea pig stomach, we observed that phorbol esters inhibit prostaglandin (PG)-stimulated increases in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), an activator of protein kinase C, decreased maximal levels of PGE2-stimulated cAMP by 40%. This dose-dependent effect was observed within 30 sec and was maximal by 1 min of incubation at 37 degrees C. Phorbols that do not activate protein kinase C did not have this effect. Adding H7, a protein kinase C inhibitor, abolished the inhibitory effects of PMA, indicating that these effects are not caused by activation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases. PMA did not alter the increase in cellular cAMP caused by cholera toxin, forskolin, secretin, or vasoactive intestinal peptide. Hence the site of these prostanoid-specific actions of protein kinase C does not appear to be stimulatory or inhibitory guanine nucleotide binding proteins or the catalytic component of the adenylyl cyclase system. In dispersed chief cells, activation of protein kinase C may inhibit prostanoid-induced stimulation of the adenylyl cyclase system by a direct effect on prostaglandin receptors.     

Regulation of type I plasminogen activator inhibitor synthesis by protein kinase C and cAMP in bovine aortic endothelial cells.

The second messengers and protein kinases involved in the induction of type I plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) synthesis by various agents were evaluated in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) induced PAI-1 in these cells implicating the protein kinase C (PK-C) pathway. However, bradykinin, which also activates PK-C in bovine aortic endothelial cells, did not induce PAI-1. Moreover, when PK-C was down-regulated by PMA pretreatment, subsequent induction of PAI-1 by transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) was unaltered, and induction by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was decreased by only 50%. LPS increased phospholipid second messengers which can activate PK-C but TGF beta and TNF alpha did not. Agents which increase cAMP, (e.g., forskolin and isobutylmethylxanthine) blocked the induction of PAI-1 synthesis by PMA, LPS, TGF beta and TNF alpha suggesting that induction may occur by lowering cAMP. This possibility seems unlikely since cAMP levels did not change in response to any of these agents. Moreover, somatostatin lowered cAMP but did not induce PAI-1. PAI-1 was not induced by treating the cells with cGMP, Na+/H+ ionophore and calcium ionophore or arachidonic acid.     

Involvement of different protein kinases and phospholipases A2 in phorbol ester (TPA)-induced arachidonic acid liberation in bovine platelets

The effect of various phospholipase A2 and protein kinase inhibitors on the arachidonic acid liberation in bovine platelets induced by the protein kinase activator 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was studied. TPA stimulates arachidonic acid release mainly by activating group IV cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2), since inhibitors of this enzyme markedly inhibited arachidonic acid formation. However, group VI Ca2+-independent PLA2 (iPLA2) seems to contribute to the arachidonic acid liberation too, since the relatively specific iPLA2 inhibitor bromoenol lactone (BEL) decreased arachidonic acid generation in part. The pronounced inhibition of the TPA-induced arachidonic acid release by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors GF 109203X and Ro 31-82220, respectively, and by the p38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB 202190 suggests that the activation of the PLA2s by TPA is mediated via PKC and p38 MAP kinase.     

Intracellular Ca2+ and protein kinase C interact to regulate alpha 1-adrenergic- and bradykinin receptor-stimulated phospholipase A2 activation in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells.

Alpha 1-Adrenergic receptors and bradykinin receptors are two distinct membrane receptors that stimulate phospholipid breakdown and arachidonic acid and arachidonic acid metabolite release. In the current studies, we have examined several mechanisms to assess their possible contribution to arachidonic acid release in the Madin-Darby canine kidney cell line by agonist stimulation of these receptors: 1) activation of phospholipase A2 (PLA2); 2) sequential activation of phospholipase C, diacylglycerol lipase, and monoacylglycerol lipase; and 3) inhibition of the sequential action of fatty acyl-CoA synthetase and lysophosphatide acyltransferase. Experiments were conducted to measure the stimulation of lysophospholipid production by epinephrine and bradykinin, the rate of incorporation of [3H]arachidonic acid into stimulated and unstimulated cells, and the effect on [3H]arachidonic acid release of treating cells with exogenous phospholipase C. The data indicate that stimulation of PLA2 activity is regulated by alpha 1-adrenergic and bradykinin receptors and that this stimulation is mediated, at least in part, by the activation of protein kinase C. We find that the role of diacylglycerol in arachidonic acid release is as an activator of protein kinase C and not as a substrate for a lipase. Moreover, the hormonal agonists do not appear to inhibit fatty acid reacylation. Experiments using the Ca2(+)-sensitive dye fura-2 and the intracellular Ca2+ chelator 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid suggest that bradykinin activates PLA2 by a transient elevation of intracellular Ca2+. This action appears to be less important for activation of PLA2 by epinephrine. Taken together, these data are consistent with the following conclusions. 1) Hormone-stimulated arachidonic acid release in Madin-Darby canine kidney-D1 cells occurs as a consequence of PLA2 activation. 2) The ability of an agonist both to mobilize Ca2+ and to activate protein kinase C contributes to its efficacy as a stimulator of PLA2-mediated arachidonic acid release.     

Identification and characterization of a hormonally regulated form of phospholipase A2 in rat renal mesangial cells

The activity of phospholipase A2 (PLA2), the regulatory enzyme in arachidonic acid release and prostaglandin synthesis, was measured in cell-free extracts of rat renal mesangial cells. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) both stimulated PLA2 activity as assayed by the release of free arachidonic acid from exogenously added [14C]arachidonyl-phosphatidylcholine. This represents a direct in vitro demonstration of hormone-induced changes in PLA2 activity. The stimulated activity was recovered following fractionation by DEAE-cellulose anion exchange and FPLC Superose 12 gel filtration. Stimulated activity from AVP- and PMA-treated cells comigrated as a single peak, suggesting that these agents are stimulating a single form of the enzyme. The molecular weight of this hormonally regulated form of PLA2 is approximately 60,000. The enzyme has an obligate requirement for Ca2+, having no activity in the presence of EGTA, and has a pH optimum in the alkaline range. Following cell disruption in the presence of chelators, the enzyme is recovered in a high speed supernatant. However, it appears that it can bind to a crude membrane fraction in a Ca2+-dependent manner, similar to other Ca2+-phospholipid binding proteins. The observed stable modification in PLA2 activity by AVP and PMA suggests a phosphorylation of PLA2 or PLA2 modulators by protein kinase C.