The cholecystokinin analogues JMV-180 and CCK-8 stimulate phospholipase C through the same binding site of CCK(A) receptor in rat pancreatic acini.

1. This study was designed to address the controversy related to the involvement of phospholipase C in the signalling pathway linked to CCK(A) receptor stimulation by the cholecystokinin analogue JMV-180, a full agonist for amylase release, in rat pancreatic acini. 2. JMV-180 was shown to stimulate phospholipase C by measuring the incorporation of [(32)P]-orthophosphoric acid ([(32)P]-Pi) into phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) and phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns). Both responses elicited by JMV-180 were time and concentration dependent. Maximal effects elicited by JMV-180 were 39.08+/-0.72 and 8.02+/-0.40% for the labelling of [(32)P]-PtdIns and [(32)P]-PtdOH, respectively, as compared to the maximal effects of CCK-8, a full agonist of the CCK(A) receptor. 3. [(32)P]-Pi incorporation into PtdOH and PtdIns was sensitive to lithium, demonstrating that both responses are a consequence of phospholipase C activation. However, since lithium blocks the phosphoinositide cycle by an uncompetitive mechanism, its effect was only apparent at high concentrations of CCK-8 (>10 pM), which elicited stimuli above 20 and 60% of the maximal [(32)P]-PtdOH and [(32)P]-PtdIns labelling, respectively. 4. JMV-180 inhibited the incorporation of [(32)P]-Pi into PtdOH and PtdIns as stimulated by CCK-8, down to its own maximal effect. The estimated IC(50) values for the inhibition curves were not significantly different from those calculated assuming the same single binding site for both agonists. These results indicated that the well established role of JMV-180 as a partial agonist for CCK(A) receptor-linked signalling responses, also applies for the stimulation of phospholipase C. 5. The comparison of CCK-8 and JMV-180 dose-response curves of amylase release to those of PtdIns and PtdOH labelling with [(32)P]-Pi showed the existence of an amplification mechanism between phospholipase C and amylase release for both agonists. 6. In conclusion, we show that JMV-180, as well as CCK-8, stimulate phospholipase C upon interaction with the same binding site at the CCK(A) receptor in rat pancreatic acini.

Characterization of the metabotropic glutamate receptors mediating phospholipase C activation and calcium release in cerebellar granule cells: calcium-dependence of the phospholipase C response.

In this study we have determined the metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) involved in the glutamate activation of phospholipase C (PLC) and Ca(2+) mobilization in cerebellar granule cells at 9 days in vitro; and studied the Ca(2+) modulation of the PLC response. Both PLC activation and Ca(2+) signalling were found to be mediated exclusively by the mGluR1 subtype, although both group I mGluRs, mGluR1 alpha and mGluR5, could be detected in cell extracts. Exposure of cells to medium devoid of Ca(2+) for various times before agonist stimulation reduced the PLC response, which was quickly recovered following the re-exposure of cells to Ca(2+)-containing medium. The extent of the glutamate response correlated well with changes in the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration. On the other hand, loading of the intracellular Ca(2+) stores by a transient depolarization followed by washing in nondepolarizing buffer, allowed glutamate to release stored Ca(2+) in the majority of cells and enhanced glutamate activation of PLC. Under such conditions, the absence of extracellular Ca(2+) during stimulation and the chelation of cytosolic Ca(2+) with BAPTA/AM inhibited both glutamate-elicited Ca(2+) response and PLC activation. Overall, these results indicate that the mGluR-mediated activation of PLC depends on the presence of extracellular Ca(2+) and can be modulated by moderate changes of cytosolic Ca(2+). Furthermore, ryanodine reduced PLC stimulation by glutamate in predepolarized cells but not in control cells, suggesting that ryanodine receptors could play a role in the potentiation of the mGluR-mediated activation of PLC by Ca(2+) release in predepolarized cells.

Tetanus toxin modulates serotonin transport in rat-brain neuronal cultures.

As has been previously described, tetanus toxin (TeTx) and its H(C) fragment inhibit the sodium-dependent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) uptake in rat-brain synaptosomes, probably through a kinase mechanism affecting the 5-HT transporter. Now, the inhibition of 5-HT uptake in neurons in primary culture by TeTx in a dose-dependent manner is described in this work. This effect is also produced by the nontoxic C-terminal fragment of the TeTx heavy chain (H(C)-fragment), indicating that 5-HT uptake inhibition is a consequence of the toxin binding to the plasmatic membrane and not to its catalytic activity. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the 5-HT accumulation was not inhibited by the light chain of TeTx or the toxoid, and was even potentiated by botulinum neurotoxin A. These results correlate with the activation of phosphoinositide-phospholipase C activity in the cultures used in this study, this activity only being enhanced by TeTx and by its Hc-fragment. On the other hand, the use of tyrosine phosphorylation modulators indicates that both Na3VO4 and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) produce an enhancement of 5-HT uptake in this system, which is also sensitive to TeTx inhibition. On the other hand, genistein alone is able to reduce the 5-HT transport in cultured neurons, and this effect did not appear to be additive to that elicited by TeTx. This result suggests that TeTx and genistein may share some events in their respective mechanisms of action. Furthermore, the incubation at different concentrations of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) confirms the involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) in 5-HT transport modulation in rat-brain neuronal primary cultures. In summary, we shall demonstrate in this work that TeTx induces, through its Hc fragment, an inhibition of both basal and stimulated serotonin uptakes in primary neuronal cultures, in parallel to the activation of phosphoinositide-phospholipase C activity and PKC activation.

Cholecystokinin octapeptide CCK-8 and carbachol reduce [(32)P]orthophosphate labeling of phosphatidylcholine without modifying phospholipase D activity in rat pancreatic acini.

We have studied phospholipase D activation in [(32)P]orthophosphoric acid-prelabeled rat pancreatic acini by measuring the formation of (32)P-phosphatidylalcohols as stimulated in the presence of ethanol or butanol. A small but significant and time-dependent basal accumulation of [(32)P]phosphatidylethanol and [(32)P]phosphatidylbutanol was detected, which was further stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate, orthovanadate and pervanadate. However, the secretagogues cholecystokinin octapeptide and carbachol did not enhance basal accumulation of (32)P-phosphatidylalcohol, yet they decreased [(32)P]phosphatidylcholine content and stimulated the generation of [(32)P]phosphatidic acid. Our results stress the need to examine the transphosphatidylation reaction as well as agonist effects on the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine in order to assess unambiguously phospholipase D activity.

Effects of oxidative stress on phospholipid signaling in rat cultured astrocytes and brain slices.

Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) are conventionally viewed as toxic by-products of cellular metabolism, a growing body of evidence suggests that they may act as signaling molecules. We have studied the effects of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-induced oxidative stress on phospholipid signaling in cultured rat cortical astrocytes. H(2)O(2) stimulated the formation of phosphatidic acid and the accumulation of phosphatidylbutanol, a product of the phospholipase D (PLD)-catalyzed transphosphatidylation reaction. The effect of exogenous H(2)O(2) on the PLD response was mimicked by menadione-induced production of endogenous H(2)O(2). Oxidative stress also elicited inositol phosphate accumulation resulting from phosphoinositide phospholipase C (PLC) activation. The PLD response to H(2)O(2) was totally suppressed by chelation of both extracellular and cytosolic Ca(2+) with EGTA and BAPTA/AM, respectively. Furthermore, H(2)O(2)-induced PLD stimulation was completely abolished by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors bisindolylmaleimide and chelerythrine and by PKC down-regulation. Activation of PLD by H(2)O(2) was also inhibited by the protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein. Finally, H(2)O(2) also stimulated both PLC and PLD in rat brain cortical slices. These results show for the first time that oxidative stress elicits phospholipid breakdown by both PLC and PLD in rat cultured astrocytes and brain slices.

Reflectivity properties of an abruptly ended asymmetrical slab waveguide for the case of transverse magnetic modes.

We deal with the scattering phenomenon from an abruptly terminated asymmetrical slab waveguide for the case of transverse magnetic (TM) modes. The analysis uses both the integral equation method and the variational technique. The reflection coefficient of the dominant TM guided mode and the far-field radiation pattern are computed, and the discontinuity of the electric field distribution on the core-clad interface is exhibited. Numerical results are presented for several cases of abruptly ended waveguides, including the three-layer slab guide and the structure with variable profile of the refractive index.

Intracellular Ca2+ stores regulate muscarinic receptor stimulation of phospholipase C in cerebellar granule cells.

Muscarinic receptor activation of phosphoinositide phospholipase C (PLC) has been examined in rat cerebellar granule cells under conditions that modify intracellular Ca2+ stores. Exposure of cells to medium devoid of Ca2+ for various times reduced carbachol stimulation of PLC with a substantial loss (88%) seen at 30 min. A progressive recovery of responses was observed following the reexposure of cells to Ca2+-containing medium (1.3 mM). However, these changes did not appear to result exclusively from changes in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), which decreased to a lower steady level (approximately 25 nM decrease in 1-3 min after extracellular omission) and rapidly returned (within 1 min) to control values when extracellular Ca2+ was restored. Only after loading of the intracellular Ca2+ stores through a transient 1-min depolarization of cerebellar granule cells with 40 mM KCl, followed by washing in nondepolarizing buffer, was carbachol able to mobilize intracellular Ca2+. However, the same treatment resulted in an 80% enhancement of carbachol activation of PLC. In other experiments, partial depletion of the Ca2+ stores by pretreatment of cells with thapsigargin and caffeine resulted in an inhibition (18 and 52%, respectively) of the PLC response. Furthermore, chelation of cytosolic Ca2+ with BAPTA/AM did not influence muscarinic activation of PLC in either the control or predepolarized cells. These conditions, however, inhibited both the increase in [Ca2+]i and the PLC activation elicited by 40 mM KCl and abolished carbachol-induced intracellular Ca2+ release in predepolarized cells. Overall, these results suggest that muscarinic receptor activation of PLC in cerebellar granule cells can be modulated by changes in the loading state of the Ca2+ stores.

Modulation of neuronal phospholipase D activity under depolarizing conditions.

Neuronal phospholipase D (PLD) activity was hypothesized to be involved in vesicle trafficking and endocytosis and, possibly, transmitter release. We here report that prolonged depolarization of rat hippocampal slices by potassium chloride (KCl) or 4-aminopyridine inhibited PLD activity. Similarly, PLD activity in rat cortical synaptosomes was significantly inhibited by depolarizing agents including veratridine and ouabain. Inhibition of calcium/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) which positively modulates synaptosomal PLD activity [Sarri et al. (1998) FEBS Lett. 440, 287-290] by KN-62 caused a further reduction of PLD activity in depolarized synaptosomes. Depolarization-induced inhibition of PLD activity was apparently not due to transmitter release or activation of other kinases. We observed, however, that KCl-induced depolarization caused an increase of inositol phosphates and a reduction of the synaptosomal pool of phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)). Moreover, in synaptosomes permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin, PLD activation induced by calcium was abolished by neomycin, a PIP(2) chelator. We conclude that depolarizing conditions cause an inhibition of neuronal PLD activity which is likely due to breakdown of PIP(2), a required cofactor for PLD activity. Our findings suggest that neuronal PLD activity is regulated by synaptic activity.

Fluoride-induced depletion of polyphosphoinositides in rat brain cortical slices: a rationale for the inhibitory effects on phospholipase C.

Fluoride, which is used commonly as a pharmacological tool to activate phosphoinositide-phospholipase C coupled to the heterotrymeric Gq/11 proteins, inhibited the phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) to polyphosphoinositides (PtdIns4P and PtdIns4,5P2) in membranes from rat brain cortex. Fluoride enhanced basal production of 3H-inositol phosphates in membranes prepared from brain cortical slices that had been prelabeled with [3H]inositol, but inhibited the stimulation elicited by carbachol in the presence of GTPgammaS. However in both cases fluoride depleted [3H]PtdIns4P content by 95%. The inhibitory effects of fluoride on the release of 3H-inositol phosphates in slices were not apparent in a pulse [3H]inositol-labeling strategy, but became dramatic in a continuous labeling protocol, particularly at long incubation times. Prelabeling slices with [3H]inositol in the presence of fluoride precluded polyphosphoinositide labeling, and eliminated phospholipase C responsiveness to carbachol under normal or depolarizing conditions, and to the calcium ionophore ionomycin. The lack of response of 3H-polyphosphoinositide-depleted slices to phospholipase C stimuli was not due to fluoride poisoning, unaccessibility of the [3H]inositol label to phospholipase C or desensitization of Gq/11, as the effect of carbachol and GTPgammaS was restored, in the presence of ATP, in membranes prepared from slices that had been labeled in the presence of fluoride. In conclusion, our data show that fluoride, at a concentration similar to that used to stimulate directly Gq/11-coupled phospholipase C, effectively blocks the synthesis of phospholipase C substrates from PtdIns.

Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors mediate phospholipase D stimulation in rat cultured astrocytes.

We have studied the activation of phospholipase D (PLD) by glutamate in rat cultured astrocytes by measuring the PLD-catalyzed formation of [32P]phosphatidylbutanol in [32P]Pi-prelabeled cells, stimulated in the presence of butanol. Glutamate elicited the activation of PLD in cortical astrocytes but not in cortical neurons, whereas similar glutamate activation of phosphoinositide phospholipase C was found in both astrocytes and neurons. The extent of PLD stimulation by glutamate was similar in astrocytes from brain cortex and hippocampus, but no effect was found in cerebellar astrocytes. In cortical astrocytes, the glutamate response was insensitive to antagonists of ionotropic glutamate receptors and was reproduced by agonists of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) with a rank order of agonist potency similar to that reported for group I mGluR-mediated phosphoinositide phospholipase activation [quisqualate > (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine > (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid]. The response to (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid was inhibited by the mGluR antagonist (S)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine and, less potently, by 1-aminoindan-1,5-dicarboxylic acid and 4-carboxyphenylglycine, two antagonists of group I mGluRs that display higher potency on mGluR1 than on mGluR5. The mGluR5-selective agonist (RS)-2-chloro-5-hydroxyphenylglycine also activated PLD in astrocytes. These findings indicate the involvement of group I mGluRs, most likely mGluR5, in the glutamate activation of PLD in cultured rat cortical astrocytes.

Involvement of ET(A) and ET(B) receptors in the activation of phospholipase D by endothelins in cultured rat cortical astrocytes.

This study was performed to characterize the receptor subtypes involved in the endothelin stimulation of phospholipase D (PLD) in rat cortical astrocytes in primary culture. PLD activity was determined by measuring the formation of [32P]phosphatidylbutanol in [32P]orthophosphate prelabelled cells stimulated in the presence of 25 mM butanol. The agonists endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelin-3 (ET-3), sarafotoxin 6c (S6c) and IRL 1620 elicited PLD activation in a concentration-dependent manner. The potencies of ET-1, ET-3 and S6c were similar. The maximal effects evoked by the ET(B)-preferring agonists, ET-3, S6c and IRL 1620, were significantly lower than the maximal response to the non-selective agonist ET-1. The response to 1 nM ET-1 was inhibited by increasing concentrations of the ET(A) receptor antagonist BQ-123 in a biphasic manner. A high potency component of the inhibition curve (24.2+/-3.5% of the ET-1 response) was defined at low (up to 1 microM) concentrations of BQ-123, yielding an estimated Ki value for BQ-123 of 21.3+/-2.5 nM. In addition, the presence of 1 microM BQ-123 significantly reduced the maximal response to ET-1 but did not change the pD2 value. Increasing concentrations of the ET(B) selective antagonist BQ-788 inhibited the S6c response with a Ki of 17.8+/-0.8 nM. BQ-788 also inhibited the effect of ET-1, although, in this case, two components were defined, accounting for approximately 50% of the response, and showing Ki values of 20.9+/-5.1 nM and 439+/-110 nM, respectively. The ET-1 concentration-response curve was shifted to the right by 1 microM BQ-788, also revealing two components. Only one of them, corresponding to 69.8+/-4.4% of the response, was sensitive to BQ-788 which showed a Ki value of 28.8+/-8.9 nM. Rapid desensitization was achieved by preincubation with ET-1 or S6c. In cells pretreated with S6c neither ET-3 nor S6c activated PLD, but ET-1 still induced approximately 40% of the response shown by non-desensitised cells. This remaining response was insensitive to BQ-788, but fully inhibited by BQ-123. In conclusion, endothelins activate PLD in rat cortical astrocytes acting through both ET(A) and ET(B) receptors, and this response desensitizes rapidly in an apparently homologous fashion. The percentage contribution of ET(A) and ET(B) receptors to the ET-1 response was found to be approximately 20% and 80%, respectively, when ET(B) receptors were not blocked, and 30-50% and 50-70%, respectively, when ET(B) receptors were inhibited or desensitized. These results may be relevant to the study of a possible role of PLD in the proliferative effects shown by endothelins on cultured and reactive astrocytes.

Regulation of phospholipase D activity in synaptosomes permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin.

In order to investigate the regulation of presynaptic phospholipase D (PLD) activity by calcium and G proteins, we established a permeabilization procedure for rat cortical synaptosomes using Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin (30-100 microg/ml). In permeabilized synaptosomes, PLD activity was significantly stimulated when the concentration of free calcium was increased from 0.1 microM to 1 microM. This activation was inhibited in the presence of KN-62 (1 microM), an inhibitor of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), but not by the protein kinase C inhibitor, Ro 31-8220 (1-10 microM). Synaptosomal PLD activity was also stimulated in the presence of 1 microM GTPgammaS. When Rho proteins were inhibited by pretreatment of the synaptosomes with Clostridium difficile toxin B (TcdB; 1-10 ng/ml), the effect of GTPgammaS was significantly reduced; in contrast, brefeldin A (10-100 microM), an inhibitor of ARF activation, was ineffective. Calcium stimulation of PLD was inhibited by TcdB, but GTPgammaS-dependent activation was insensitive to KN-62. We conclude that synaptosomal PLD is activated in a pathway which sequentially involves CaMKII and Rho proteins.

Two phosphatidylethanol classes separated by thin layer chromatography are produced by phospholipase D in rat brain hippocampal slices.

Noradrenaline- and ionomycin-stimulated as well as basal phospholipase D activity from rat hippocampus produced, in the presence of ethanol, two different classes of [32P]phosphatidylethanol (designated I and II), which were separated by thin layer chromatography. Endogenous labeling experiments using 3H-fatty acids showed that two different classes of phosphatidylcholine, separated by two-dimensional TLC, one enriched with high incorporation of [3H]arachidonic acid (B) and the other with [3H]myristic acid (A), were the most likely sources for the two classes of phosphatidylethanol. Experiments where individual 32P-phospholipids extracted from [32P]Pi-labeled hippocampal slices were incubated with cabbage phospholipase D, in the presence of ethanol, showed that each class of [32P]phosphatidylcholine, i.e. A and B, produced a different band of [32P]phosphatidylethanol, with the same mobility in TLC as phosphatidylethanol II and I, respectively.

Histamine H1 and endothelin ETB receptors mediate phospholipase D stimulation in rat brain hippocampal slices.

Different neurotransmitter receptor agonists [carbachol, serotonin, noradrenaline, histamine, endothelin-1, and trans-(1S,3R)-aminocyclopentyl-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (trans-ACPD)], known as stimuli of phospholipase C in brain tissue, were tested for phospholipase D stimulation in [32P]Pi-prelabeled rat brain cortical and hippocampal slices. The accumulation of [32P]phosphatidylethanol was measured as an index of phospholipase D-catalyzed transphosphatidylation in the presence of ethanol. Among the six neurotransmitter receptor agonists tested, only noradrenaline, histamine, endothelin-1, and trans-ACPD stimulated phospholipase D in hippocampus and cortex, an effect that was strictly dependent of the presence of millimolar extracellular calcium concentrations. The effect of histamine (EC50 18 microM) was inhibited by the H1 receptor antagonist mepyramine with a Ki constant of 0.7 nM and was resistant to H2 and H3 receptor antagonists (ranitidine and tioperamide, respectively). Endothelin-1-stimulated phospholipase D (EC50 44 nM) was not blocked by BQ-123, a specific antagonist of the ETA receptor. Endothelin-3 and the specific ETB receptor agonist safarotoxin 6c were also able to stimulate phospholipase D with efficacies similar to that of endothelin-1, and EC50 values of 16 and 3 nM, respectively. These results show that histamine and endothelin-1 stimulate phospholipase D in rat brain through H1 and ETB receptors, respectively.

Neurotransmitter-specific profiles of inositol phosphates in rat brain cortex: relation to the mode of receptor activation of phosphoinositide phospholipase C.

Phosphoinositide breakdown, as stimulated by six different neurotransmitter receptor agonists (carbachol, serotonin, norepinephrine, trans-(+/-)-aminocyclopentyl-1,3-dicarboxylic acid, endothelin-1 and histamine), has been studied in rat brain cortical slices. The accumulation was monitored of total 3H-inositol phosphates (InsPs) and [3H]CDP-diacylglycerol (CDP-DAG) in [3H]inositol or [3H]cytidine-prelabeled tissue, respectively, and the profile of the major InsPs was quantified as the index log [(inositol 4-monophosphate + inositol 1,4-bisphosphate)/inositol 1-monophosphate]. The efficacy of the six agonists to stimulate the accumulation of CDP-DAG, relative to that of InsPs, was not constant, which revealed varying degrees of defective recycling of DAG to CDP-DAG. The value of the index for the profile of InsPs was not constant either but was characteristic of each agonist. Both parameters (ratio of efficacies CDP-DAG/InsPs and InsPs profile) were not independent and defined two groups of agonists as follows: group a, carbachol and serotonin, with balanced CDP-DAG and InsPs responses, and Ins1P prevailing against inositol 4-monophosphate + inositol 1,4-bisphosphate and group b, norepinephrine, trans-(+/-)-aminocyclopentyl-1,3-dicarboxylic acid, endothelin-1 and histamine, with weak CDP-DAG responses and high accumulation of inositol 4-monophosphate + inositol 1,4-bisphosphate compared with that of inositol 1-monophosphate. In a membrane preparation from brain cortex, only agonists in group a stimulated phospholipase C in the presence of guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) and in a receptor antagonist-sensitive fashion, which indicated that brain cortical alpha-1, H1, endothelin and glutamate metabotropic receptors stimulate phospholipase C indirectly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Neurotransmitter-stimulated breakdown of endogenous polyphosphoinositides in post mortem human brain.

Membranes from human brain cortex (8-12 h post mortem) were labelled with [3H]inositol, in the presence of CMP, through the back reaction catalysed by PtdIns synthase. The enzyme incorporated [3H]inositol into phosphoinositides at a maximal rate of 419 pmol min-1 mg protein-1. In the absence of CMP, the labelling rate due to the PtdIns headgroup exchanging enzyme was 36 pmol min-1 mg protein-1. Human brain PtdIns synthase showed Kmapp values of 0.49 mM and 18 microM for inositol and CMP, respectively. In the presence of ATP, [3H]polyphosphoinositides formed after [3H]PtdIns were hydrolysed by phospholipase C in a GTP gamma S and neurotransmitter receptor agonist-dependent manner. Production of 3H-inositol phosphates as stimulated by GTP gamma S (350% of basal) was increased by the muscarinic agonists carbachol and oxotremorine-M (600% of basal) and by serotonin (485% of basal). The relative potencies of carbachol and oxotremorine-M were consistent with an action at muscarinic receptors. These results show that coupling between muscarinic and serotonin receptors and phospholipase C is preserved in membranes from post mortem human brain cortex and validate the use of a method involving direct [3H]inositol labelling of a membrane fraction to study the functional state of phospholipase C-coupled receptors in human brain samples.

Endogenous phosphoinositide precursors of inositol phosphates in rat brain cortical membranes.

The appearance of Ins1P as an index of direct PtdIns breakdown by phospholipase C was examined in rat brain cortical membranes using either exogenous [3H]PtdIns substrate or [3H]inositol-prelabeled endogenous phosphoinositide substrates. Production of [3H]Ins1P was observed using exogenous [3H]PtdIns but not with endogenous substrate over the physiological range of calcium concentrations. [3H]Ins1,4P2 and [3H]Ins4P, derived from phospholipase C breakdown of polyphosphoinositides, were formed by membranes from both exogenous [3H]PtdIns and endogenous 3H-phosphoinositides, in the presence of ATP. The contribution of endogenous PtdInsP2 and PtdInsP to the generation of inositol phosphates was examined in membranes from [3H]inositol-prelabeled brain slices by adding unlabeled Ins1,4,5P3 to trap [3H]Ins1,4,5P3 generated upon breakdown of [3H]PtdInsP2. The maximal rate of [3H]Ins1,4,5P3 appearance was attained in the presence of 150-200 microM added Ins1,4,5P3 and represented 12.5% of the combined rates of formation of [3H]Ins1,4,5P3 and [3H]Ins1,4P2, similar to the content of [3H]PtdInsP2 relative to total 3H-polyphosphoinositides. The results show that, while endogenous PtdIns is not degraded by phospholipase C, the enzyme appears to be equally effective to cleave endogenous PtdInsP2 and PtdInsP.