title: Ca2+ modulation of cis-unsaturated fatty acid-induced mutant protein kinase C activity: indication of inhibitory Ca2+-binding site in protein kinase C-alpha.
abstract: The C2 domain in protein kinase C (PKC) is homologous to equivalent domains in a number of important cytoplasmic proteins. Except for its implied function in Ca2+ and phospholipid binding, the precise role of this domain is not well understood. We examined the role of the C2 domain of PKC-alpha using a mutant enzyme in which 80% of this domain has been deleted. This mutant can be activated by phospholipid and diacylglycerol, but is independent of Ca2+. In this regard, its characteristics are similar to those of the novel PKCs (nPKCs), consistent with the notion that the C2 domain of PKC confers its Ca2+ responsiveness. However, when the C2 deletion mutant is activated by cis-unsaturated fatty acid, the activity is strongly inhibited by Ca2+ at micromolar concentrations. The Ca2+ inhibition is dose-dependent and is specific to cis-unsaturated fatty acids. The deletion mutant can also be activated synergistically by diacylglycerol and cis-fatty acid, but again activation is inhibited by Ca2+. Our results indicate that a PKC lacking the C2 domain is Ca2+-responsive and there exists an additional site for Ca2+ that modulates the sensitivity of the enzyme to cis-unsaturated fatty acid but not to diacylglycerol. This modulatory Ca2+-binding site appears to be suppressed by the C2 domain because the presence of the domain reverses the direction of PKC activity induced by cis-unsaturated fatty acid. These results suggest that the modulatory Ca2+-binding site could act as a molecular switch selective for fatty acid activation by sensing the changes in the Ca2+ levels in a cell, serving a possible mechanism of differential activation of cPKC with a C2 domain and nPKC lacking this domain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemical Pharmacology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eshete
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gannon-Murakami
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murakami
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D019556:COS Cells; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004075:Diglycerides / Q000494:pharmacology; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004790:Enzyme Induction; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000494:pharmacology; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D004075:Diglycerides; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D007527:Isoenzymes; D010743:Phospholipids; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D002118:Calcium