title: Phorbol esters mediate phospholipid-free activation of rat brain protein kinase C.
abstract: The present study provides evidence that rat brain protein kinase C elicits a phosphotransferase activity towards histone and undergoes autophosphorylation in the absence of phosphatidylserine. The tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate binds to and activates protein kinase C in a phospholipid-free reaction. The apparent activation constant (Ka = 2.7 nM) is not modified by the absence of phospholipid but the maximum velocity is greatly decreased. The phosphotransfer reaction to exogenous substrates occurs in 0.5 mM ethylene-bis(oxyethylenenitrilo)tetraacetic acid, although autophosphorylation in these conditions requires the presence of Ca2+. The protein kinase C inhibitor (1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine inhibits the reaction, whereas the cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor is ineffective. In contrast to diacylglycerol, which is a poor activator, unsaturated fatty acids potently activate the phospholipid-free reaction. Moreover, the substrate specificity is markedly changed, e.g., myelin basic protein and histone types VI-S and VII-S appear to be relatively better substrates in the phospholipid-free reaction. The data presented indicate that protein kinase C (or some individual isoforms) may function, at least partially, without binding to membrane phospholipid and suggest that this novel characteristic of phorbol esters may account for their tumor-promoting activity.
authors.affiliation: Groupe de Laboratoires de l'Institut de Recherches Scientifiques sur le Cancer, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Da Silva
authors.forename: X T
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martelly
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castagna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology; D004533:Egtazic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D007700:Kinetics; D010703:Phorbol Esters / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000502:physiology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D012995:Solubility; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010703:Phorbol Esters; D010743:Phospholipids; D004533:Egtazic Acid; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate