Phospholipases in human parturition

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 511 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Wilson

Phospholipase A2 plays a major role in controlling PG synthesis. Regulation of the activity of this enzyme probably holds the key to the onset of labour. Both PLA2 and PLC can contribute to arachidonate release and PG production in cells, but PLA2 appears to be the main role of synthesis. Phospholipase A2 and PLC can be activated independently of each other; an influx of external calcium is required for PLA2 activation. It is suggested that PLC contributes to PG synthesis through product stimulation of protein kinase C which maintains a pool of free arachidonate by inhibiting reincorporation into the cell membrane. The regulatory role for lipocortin in phospholipase inhibition is controversial and unlikely to be relevant to the onset of labour.

1987 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Grinstein ◽  
S Cohen

The effect of elevating cytoplasmic Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) on the intracellular pH (pHi) of thymic lymphocytes was investigated. In Na+-containing media, treatment of the cells with ionomycin, a divalent cation ionophore, induced a moderate cytoplasmic alkalinization. In the presence of amiloride or in Na+-free media, an acidification was observed. This acidification is at least partly due to H+ (equivalent) uptake in response to membrane hyperpolarization since: it was enhanced by pretreatment with conductive protonophores, it could be mimicked by valinomycin, and it was decreased by depolarization with K+ or gramicidin. In addition, activation of metabolic H+ production also contributes to the acidification. The alkalinization is due to Na+/H+ exchange inasmuch as it is Na+ dependent, amiloride sensitive, and accompanied by H+ efflux and net Na+ gain. A shift in the pHi dependence underlies the activation of the antiport. The effect of [Ca2+]i on Na+/H+ exchange was not associated with redistribution of protein kinase C and was also observed in cells previously depleted of this enzyme. Treatment with ionomycin induced significant cell shrinking. Prevention of shrinking largely eliminated the activation of the antiport. Moreover, a comparable shrinking produced by hypertonic media also activated the antiport. It is concluded that stimulation of Na+/H+ exchange by elevation of [Ca2+]i is due, at least in part, to cell shrinking and does not require stimulation of protein kinase C.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3305-3312
Author(s):  
M Izquierdo ◽  
J Downward ◽  
J D Graves ◽  
D A Cantrell

T-lymphocyte activation via the antigen receptor complex (TCR) results in accumulation of p21ras in the active GTP-bound state. Stimulation of protein kinase C (PKC) can also activate p21ras, and it has been proposed that the TCR effect on p21ras occurs as a consequence of TCR regulation of PKC. To test the role of PKC in TCR regulation of p21ras, a permeabilized cell system was used to examine TCR regulation of p21ras under conditions in which TCR activation of PKC was blocked, first by using a PKC pseudosubstrate peptide inhibitor and second by using ionic conditions that prevent phosphatidyl inositol hydrolysis and hence diacylglycerol production and PKC stimulation. The data show that TCR-induced p21ras activation is not mediated exclusively by PKC. Thus, in the absence of PKC stimulation, the TCR was still able to induce accumulation of p21ras-GTP complexes, and this stimulation correlated with an inactivation of p21ras GTPase-activating proteins. The protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor herbimycin could prevent the non-PKC-mediated, TCR-induced stimulation of p21ras. These data indicate that two mechanisms for p21ras regulation coexist in T cells: one PKC mediated and one not. The TCR can apparently couple to p21ras via a non-PKC-controlled route that may involve tyrosine kinases.


1986 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur R. Buckley ◽  
David W. Montgomery ◽  
Ruthann Kibler ◽  
Charles W. Putnam ◽  
Charles F. Zukoski ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 319 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khai TRAN ◽  
Jason T WONG ◽  
Edmund LEE ◽  
Alvin C. CHAN ◽  
Patrick C. CHOY

Cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) selectively catalyses the release of arachidonic acid from the sn-2 position of glycerophospholipids to produce prostaglandins and leukotrienes. In this study, vitamin E enrichment of rat heart myoblastic H9c2 cells caused an increase in the release of arachidonate during ionophore (A23187) stimulation. PLA2 activity in the cytosolic fraction was also enhanced but enzyme activity in the particulate fraction was not affected by this treatment. Immunoblotting analysis with a polyclonal anti-cPLA2 antibody showed an increased level of the enzyme in vitamin E-treated cells. Direct incorporation of vitamin E into lipid vesicles in the assay mixture resulted in modulation of enzyme activity in a biphasic manner. Pretreatment of cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, a known activator of protein kinase C, synergistically potentiated the ionophore-induced arachidonate release in both the control and vitamin E-treated cells. However, vitamin E treatment by itself did not affect the protein kinase C activity, indicating that the vitamin E-induced activation of cPLA2 was independent of the protein kinase C cascade. Collectively, these results suggest that vitamin E potentiates arachidonate release through the direct and/or indirect modulation of cPLA2 activity.


Author(s):  
W Siffert ◽  
P Scheid ◽  
JW N Akkerman

Platelet stimulation has been shown to result in a rise of cytosolic pH (pHi) as a result of an activation of a Na+/H+ antiport. We have investigated the role of pH in Ca2+ mobilization in human platelets. pHi and free Ca2+, {Ca2+)i, were measured in platelets loaded with the fluorescent indicators BCECF and quin2, respectively. Stimulation of platelets by either thrombin or OAG, an activator of protein kinase C (Pk-C), increased pHi. Pretreatment of platelets with inhibitors of Pk-C, trifluoperazine (TFP) or sphingosine (SPH), blocked the stimulus-induced rise in pHi, suggesting a role of Pk-C in the activation of Na+/H+ exchange. Blocking Na+/H+ exchange by an amiloride analogue or by TFP similarly suppressed the thrombin-induced increase in {Ca2*}i. This effect could be prevented by increasing pHi with the Na+/H+ ionophore monensin or with NH4Cl. The thrombin-induced (0.05 U/ml) rise in {Ca2+}i was more than 3-fold enhanced when the pH was raised from 6.8 to 7.4.Our results demonstrate that pHi controls Ca2+ mobilization in human platelets and suggest that Pk-C contributes to this control by activating the Na+/H+ exchanger.Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. No Sche 46/5-2.


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