Inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate binding sites in neuronal and non-neuronal tissues. Properties, comparisons and potential physiological significance

1. Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding sites were studied in cerebellar and hepatic microsomes from rat, and in bovine adrenal-cortical microsomes. 2. At pH 7.0, all three tissues showed specific binding, with Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 being the most potent competing ligand of those tested [which included Ins(1,4,5)P3, Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 and InsP6] and Scatchard analysis suggested two sites; a site with high affinity and high specificity [Kd (1-6) x 10(-9) M] and a site with low affinity and low specificity [Kd (2-6) x 10(-7) M]. 3. At pH 5.5, cerebellar and bovine adrenal microsomes showed similar binding properties: two affinities with a similar specificity for Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 as at pH 7.0. 4. However, when assayed in a low-ionic strength acetate-based buffer at pH 5.0, cerebellar microsomes retain specific Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding sites, whereas bovine adrenal and hepatic microsomal binding sites lose much of their specificity, as InsP6 and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 are equally as potent as Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. 5. Pi (25 mM), which is frequently included in Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding assays, had a small inhibitory effect on binding of cerebellar and adrenal microsomes at pH 5.5, but a large effect at pH 7.0, so that a considerable decrease occurs in the amount of specific binding at pH 5.5 compared with that at pH 7.0, if Pi is omitted from the binding assay. 6. Cerebellar and adrenal microsomes were used in a ligand-displacement mass assay (conducted under near-physiological conditions, at pH 7.0) on extracts of cerebral-cortex slices stimulated with agonists, and both preparations faithfully detected the increases in Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 that occurred, implying that Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 is the principal ligand on these binding sites in intact cells. 7. Apparent contradictions in the literature with regard to Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding sites in neuronal and peripheral tissues can be largely accounted for by the data, and the properties of the binding sites detected at physiological pH are consistent with the possibility that they are putative receptors for the proposed second-messenger role for Ins(1,3,4,5)P4.

Inositol phosphates and Ca2+ entry: toward a proliferation or a simplification?

Intracellular mobilization of Ca2+ by inositol trisphosphate (IP3) is only a temporary phenomenon; the more crucial process of stimulated entry of Ca2+ by inositol phosphates is still poorly understood, with apparently conflicting data and hypotheses arising from different tissues and experimental protocols. There is clear evidence that the intracellular Ca2+ stores themselves can control Ca2+ entry and that IP3 may exert a direct effect on Ca2+ entry over and above its function in emptying those stores. There is also clear evidence that inositol tetrakisphosphate (IP4) can control Ca2+ entry, but there is controversy over whether it is actually necessary. Thus at present the combined evidence suggests that there must be a multiplicity of mechanisms extant, with different mechanisms being emphasized in different tissues. Alternatively, there could be one common mechanism, discussed here, which may lead to apparently different emphases as a result of the various experimental protocols.

Phospholipids in the nucleus--metabolism and possible functions

Most of the phospholipids in the nuclear envelope are contained in the double nuclear membrane, and this has an active lipid metabolism consistent with its origins as a component of the endoplasmic reticular system. However, even after removal of the nuclear membrane with detergents, some phospholipids, mostly of unknown location and function, remain. Amongst these are all of the components of what appears to be a nuclear polyphosphoinositide signalling system, distinct from the well-established inositide pathway found in the plasma membrane. The consequences for nuclear function of the activation of these two inositide pathways are discussed, with a detailed consideration of proposed intranuclear functions for protein kinase C, and the maintenance of nuclear Ca2+ homoeostasis.

An inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-6-kinase activity in pea roots

A soluble extract from pea (Pisum sativum L.) roots, when incubated with ATP and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, produced an inositol tetrakisphosphate. The chromatographic properties of this inositol tetrakisphosphate, and of the products formed by its chemical degradation, identify it as inositol 1,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate. No evidence was obtained for a 3-phosphorylation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. The importance of these observations with respect to inositol phosphates and calcium signalling in higher plants, is discussed.

Inositol lipids in cell signalling

In the past year, major advances have been made in our understanding of the regulation of phosphoinositidase C, and of the action of the inositol trisphosphate receptor and how it may generate 'quantal' Ca2+ release. The functions of inositol tetrakisphosphate and of the 3-phosphorylated inositol lipids continue to generate controversy, but both may be well on the way towards some clarification. Finally, we may have to extend our concept of the inositide cycle to include an intranuclear signalling function.

Inositol polyphosphate metabolism and inositol lipids in a green alga, Chlamydomonas eugametos

Swimming suspensions of Chlamydomonas eugametos were pelleted and homogenized, and the metabolism of inositol polyphosphates by cellular homogenates or supernatants was investigated. Ins(1,4,5)P3 was dephosphorylated under physiological conditions to yield a single InsP2, Ins(1,4]2. In the presence of ATP it was phosphorylated to give Ins(1,3,4,5)P3 as the only InsP4. The Ins(1,4,5)P3 3-kinase activity was predominantly soluble, was not detectably affected by calmodulin or Ca2+, and had a Km for Ins(1,4,5)P3 of 50 microM (two orders of magnitude higher than its mammalian counterpart). Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was dephosphorylated by the cellular supernatants to Ins(1,3,4)P3 and Ins(1,4,5)P3, and could be phosphorylated to Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P4. No Ins(1,3,4)P3 6-kinase activity could be detected, and experiments with [3H]Ins(1,4,[32P]5)P3 revealed that Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 is formed from Ins(1,4,5)P3 with little loss of the 5-phosphate, i.e. the predominant route of synthesis is probably by a direct 6-phosphorylation of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. Similar experiments with an (NH4)2SO4 fraction of turkey erythrocyte cytosol gave essentially the same result, i.e. direct phosphorylation of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 in the 6 position is the predominant route of synthesis of InsP5 from that InsP4 in vitro. No InsP6 formation was detected in any of these experiments, but labelling of intact C. eugametos with [3H]inositol revealed that the cells do synthesize InsP6. The lipids of C. eugametos cells contain PtdIns, PtdIns(4)P and PtdIns(4,5)P2 [Irvine, Letcher, Lander, Drøbak, Dawson & Musgrave (1989) Plant Physiol. 64, 888-892]. Further examination of 32P-labelled lipids revealed that about 20% of the PtdInsP was the PtdIns(3)P isomer, and about 1% or less of the PtdInsP2 was the PtdIns(3,4)P2 isomer. The overall inositide metabolism of C. eugametos resembles that of a mammalian cell more closely than it does that of a plant cell or slime mould, and this suggests firstly that the known metabolism of inositol polyphosphates arose at an early time in eukaryotic evolution, and secondly that Chlamydomonas might prove a useful organism for genetic and comparative studies of inositide enzymology.

The polyphosphoinositide cycle exists in the nuclei of Swiss 3T3 cells under the control of a receptor (for IGF-I) in the plasma membrane, and stimulation of the cycle increases nuclear diacylglycerol and apparently induces translocation of protein kinase

When Swiss 3T3 cells are treated with Insulin-like Growth Factor I, a rapid decrease in the mass of polyphosphoinositol lipids (phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate) occurs within the nuclei, with a concomitant increase in nuclear diacylglycerol and translocation of protein kinase C to the nuclear region. This is in contrast to the effects of the regulatory peptide, bombesin, which causes similar inositol lipid changes in the plasma membrane, has no effect on nuclear inositide levels and causes a translocation of protein kinase C to post-nuclear membranes. These results suggest the existence of a discrete nuclear polyphosphoinositide signalling system entirely distinct from the well-known plasma membrane-located system, which is under regulatory control by cell surface-located receptors.

Effects of transformation with the v-src oncogene on inositol phosphate metabolism in rat-1 fibroblasts. D-myo-inositol 1,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate is increased in v-src-transformed rat-1 fibroblasts and can be synthesized from D-myo-inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate in cytosolic extracts

Rat-1 fibroblasts transformed with the v-src oncogene show a 6-fold increase in the apparent amount of an inositol polyphosphate which has a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) elution characteristic of the D/L-myo-inositol 1,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate enantiomeric pair (Johnson, R.M., Wasilenko, W.J., Mattingly, R.R., Weber, M.J., and Garrison, J.C. (1989) Science 246, 121-124). By chemical and enzymatic analysis, the structure of this compound produced in both normal and v-src-transformed rat-1 fibroblasts has been determined to be principally D-myoinositol 1,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate (D-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4). Chronic stimulation with endothelin-1 in the presence of Li+ significantly increased the amount of D/L-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 only in the v-src-transformed rat-1 cells, suggesting that production of this compound may be remotely coupled to long term agonist-induced phosphatidylinositol turnover. Further evidence for such a link is provided by the progressive loss of D-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 from the normal cells deprived of serum stimulation. To define a possible synthetic pathway for D-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4, cytosolic extracts of normal and v-src-transformed cells were incubated with [3H]inositol polyphosphates, and the reaction products were identified by HPLC elution and chemical analysis. Although inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate 6-kinase activity was prominent in extracts of both normal and transformed cells, only the cytosol from v-src-transformed cells ultimately formed measurable amounts of D-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 from [3H]inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate. Approximately 6% of 0.1 microM inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate was converted to D-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 during a 2-h incubation at 37 degrees C. Inositol pentakisphosphate was identified as a likely intermediate in this conversion, and extracts of both normal and transformed cells converted [3H]inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate to D-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4. The synthetic pathway described is consistent with the long term regulation of D/L-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 levels in rat-1 fibroblasts seen in response to src transformation, serum withdrawal, and chronic endothelin treatment, and identifies several new potential interactions between the pathways of inositol polyphosphate metabolism and those of src transformation.

Inositol tetrakisphosphate as a second messenger: confusions, contradictions, and a potential resolution

The second messenger function of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) is now well-defined--it mobilizes Ca2+ from intracellular stores so that cystolic Ca2+ increases. However, the function of inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (InsP4) has proved much more difficult to fathom, as it has been reported to exert a wide variety of effects in a collection of experimental systems. In this review, a proposed molecular mechanism for InsP4's actions is discussed; it is suggested that InsP4 is the second messenger that controls Ca2+ entry into cells, and that it does so by binding to a receptor which itself interacts, directly or indirectly, with the receptor for InsP3. It is proposed that this is InsP4's true physiological function, but the mechanism by which it exerts this function has led to confusing data concerning its action, and also to some misconceptions about how inositol phosphates control Ca2+ entry.

Electroporation can cause artefacts due to solubilization of cations from the electrode plates. Aluminum ions enhance conversion of inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate into inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in electroporated L1210 cells

1. In electroporated L1210 cells, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 causes Ca2+ release, owing to its conversion into Ins(1,4,5)P3, but this does not happen in cells permeabilized by digitonin treatment [Cullen, Irvine, Drøbak & Dawson (1989) Biochem. J. 259, 931-933]. 2. If the assay medium is subjected to electroporation by using a commercially available electroporation apparatus and then the cells are added and permeabilized with digitonin, the cells behave as if they had been electroporated. 3. Electroporation causes the release of high concentrations of Al3+ into the experimental medium, and addition of these concentrations of Al3+ into the experimental medium mimics the effect of electroporation on the conversion of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 into Ins(1,4,5)P3. 4. It is concluded that the difference between electroporated and digitonin-permeabilized L1210 cells in this experimental system can be attributed to dissolution of Al3+ from the electroporation cuvette. Al3+ contamination may thus be a serious problem when using this apparatus.

Molecular species analysis of 1,2-diacylglycerols and phosphatidic acid formed during bombesin stimulation of Swiss 3T3 cells

Swiss 3T3 cells were labelled with [3H]glycerol and stimulated with bombesin over a time course of 20 min. The individual 1,2-diacylglycerols produced were quantified by acetylation followed by analysis by HPLC and argentation chromatography. The major phospholipids and phosphatidic acid were acetolysed and then analysed in the same manner. The data show that even at an early time of stimulation (30 s), stimulated diacylglycerol formation comes from at least two sources--phosphoinositides and phosphatidylcholine.

Pathway of phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)-trisphosphate synthesis in activated neutrophils

Neutrophils activated by the formyl peptide f-Met-Leu-Phe transiently accumulate a small subset of highly polar inositol lipids. A similar family of lipids also appear in many other cells in response to a range of growth factors and activated oncogenes, and are presumed to be the direct or indirect products of 3-phosphatidylinositol kinase. The structures of these lipids are shown to be phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, phosphatidylinositol-(3,4)bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol-(3,4,5)trisphosphate, and we present evidence that in intact neutrophils a phosphatidyl-inositol-(4,5)bisphosphate-3-kinase seems to be the focal point through which agonists stimulate the formation of 3-phosphorylated inositol lipids.

Polyphosphoinositol lipids in Chlamydomonas eugametos gametes

In Chlamydomonas eugametos gametes, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdInsP) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdInsP2) comprised 0.4 and 0.3% of the whole-cell phospholipids. They were concentrated in the plasma membrane around the cell body and were present in low concentrations in the flagellar membrane. When gametes were fed (32)PO 4 (-) , the label was rapidly incorporated into PtdInsP and PtdInsP2 and only slowly incorporated into structural lipids such as phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Similarly, when a pulse of (32)PO 4 (-) was chased with PO 4 (-) , the label was rapidly lost from the polyphosphoinositol lipids but not from the structural lipids. The major fatty acids in the polyphosphoinositides were C-22 carbon polyenoic acids (70%). The significance of these results in relationship to intracellular signalling via inositol phosphates and Ca(2+) is discussed.

Histamine-induced calcium oscillations in human vascular smooth muscle: temporal sequence and spatial organization in single cells

1. Video imaging of single, fura2-loaded vascular smooth muscle cells was used to examine the spatial and temporal alterations in calcium, Ca2+, in response to low levels of vasoconstrictor stimuli. 2. Histamine (0.5 mumol/L) produced repetitive oscillations in Ca2+, which appeared to show some variation in amplitude and frequency between cells. 3. Individual oscillations consisted of an initial increase in Ca2+ in a localized region followed by a wave-like propagation of this region of elevated Ca2+ throughout the rest of the cell cytoplasm. 4. It is suggested that the subcellular spatial organization of Ca2+ that was observed during a Ca2+ oscillation allows a population of cells to operate in unison. Thus, oscillatory fluctuations in Ca2+ may contribute to myogenic tone.

myo-inositol pentakisphosphates. Structure, biological occurrence and phosphorylation to myo-inositol hexakisphosphate

1. Standard and high-performance anion-exchange-chromatographic techniques have been used to purify myo-[3H]inositol pentakisphosphates from various myo-[3H]inositol-prelabelled cells. Slime mould (Dictyostelium discoideum) contained 8 microM-myo-[3H]inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate, 16 microM-myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,3,4,6-pentakisphosphate and 36 microM-D-myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate [calculated intracellular concentrations; Stephens & Irvine (1990) Nature (London) 346, 580-583]; germinating mung-bean (Phaseolus aureus) seedlings contained both D- and L-myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate (which was characterized by 31P and two-dimensional proton n.m.r.) and D- and/or L-myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,3,4,5-pentakisphosphate; HL60 cells contained myo-[3H]inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate (in a 500-fold excess over the other species), myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,3,4,6-pentakisphosphate and D- and/or L-myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate; and NG-115-401L-C3 cells contained myo-[3H]inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate (in a 100-fold excess over the other species), D- and/or L-myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate, myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,3,4,6-pentakisphosphate and D- and/or L-myo-[3H]inositol 1,2,3,4,5-pentakisphosphate. 2. Multiple soluble ATP-dependent myo-inositol pentakisphosphate kinase activities have been detected in slime mould, rat brain and germinating mung-bean seedling homogenates. In slime-mould cytosolic fractions, the three myo-inositol pentakisphosphates that were present in intact slime moulds could be phosphorylated to myo-[3H]inositol hexakisphosphate: the relative first-order rate constants for these reactions were, in the order listed above, 1:8:31 respectively (with first-order rate constants in the intact cell of 0.1, 0.8 and 3.1 s-1, assuming a cytosolic protein concentration of 50 mg/ml), and the Km values of the activities for their respective inositol phosphate substrates (in the presence of 5 mM-ATP) were 1.6 microM, 3.8 microM and 1.4 microM. At least two forms of myo-inositol pentakisphosphate kinase activity could be resolved from a slime-mould cytosolic fraction by both pharmacological and chromatographic criteria. Rat brain cytosol and a soluble fraction derived from germinating mung-bean seedlings could phosphorylate myo-inositol D/L-1,2,4,5,6-, D/L-1,2,3,4,5-, 1,2,3,4,6- and 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphates to myo-inositol hexakisphosphate: the relative first-order rate constants were 57:27:77:1 respectively for brain cytosol (with first-order rate constants in the intact cell of 0.0041, 0.0019, 0.0056 and 0.000073 s-1 respectively, assuming a cytosolic protein concentration of 50 mg/ml) and 1:11:12:33 respectively for mung-bean cytosol (with first-order rate constants in a supernatant fraction with a protein concentration of 10 mg/ml of 0.0002, 0.0022, 0.0024 and 0.0066 s-1 respectively).

Quantal release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores by InsP3: tests of the concept of control of Ca2+ release by intraluminal Ca2+

A possible mechanism for the generation of 'quantal' release of intracellular Ca2+ by InsP3 (Muallem et al., J. biol. Chem. 264, 205-212 (1989)) has been put forward in which intraluminal Ca2+ levels modulate InsP3 receptor structure (Irvine, FEBS Lett. 263, 5-9 (1990)). Here we have modelled such a steady-state mechanism, with an InsP3-sensitive store plus an InsP3-insensitive one, to test its ability to mimic published data. We have also performed experiments on InsP3-stimulated rat liver microsomes to test whether the model is consistent with one-way Ca2+ fluxes at a steady state. The model can simulate quantal release, in that InsP3 produces a release of part of the stored Ca2+ which is initially rapid relative to the one-way flux. In the original form of the model, in which InsP3-modulated Ca2+ binding to the intraluminal site opens the Ca2+ channel, the range of InsP3 concentrations needed to release Ca2+ is greater than that observed. When the model is changed so that Ca2(+)-modulated InsP3 binding opens the channels, the effective InsP3 range is shortened, but the quantal release effect is reduced. Other published data on one-way fluxes, and our own data on microsomes, can be simulated when leakage from the InsP3-insensitive store is adjusted to fit the observations; these data therefore do not test the existence of a steady state in the InsP3-sensitive store. We conclude that sensitivity of Ca2+ release to intraluminal Ca2+ provides a steady-state explanation of most, but not all, current quantal release observations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Thrombin attenuates the stimulatory effect of histamine on Ca2+ entry in confluent human umbilical vein endothelial cell cultures

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were grown to confluence, as first passage cells, on coverslips. Treatment with ionomycin or histamine caused a sustained rise in intracellular Ca2+ (measured by Fura-2 fluorescence), but after treatment with thrombin, only a transient rise in Ca2+ was observed. Furthermore, the addition of thrombin after ionomycin or histamine lowered the raised Ca2+ back to near control levels. This effect of thrombin was concentration dependent, with increasing concentrations producing increases in both the rate and extent of the lowering of Ca2+. A similar effect of thrombin was seen on video imaging of Fura-2-loaded cell monolayers. The Ca2(+)-lowering effect of thrombin was not mimicked by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate nor blocked by staurosporine, indicating a lack of involvement of protein kinase C; intracellular pH also does not appear to be involved. The mechanism by which thrombin lowers cytoplasmic Ca2+ is due mainly to inhibition of Ca2+ entry since thrombin prevented the stimulated influx of Mn2+ caused by histamine or ionomycin. It may therefore be that in vivo under certain physiological or pathological conditions, thrombin's effects on intracellular Ca2+ are more transient than those of histamine, and thrombin also may induce transience in histamine's actions.

Synchronized repetitive spikes in cytoplasmic calcium in confluent monolayers of human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Synchronized repetitive spikes in cytoplasmic free calcium concentration, [Ca2+]i, are evoked by histamine in confluent monolayers of human endothelial cells. The repetitive spikes, which are apparently dependent upon the establishment of cell coupling, are also induced by caffeine, indicating that they may be due to an oscillatory release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum, and may not involve oscillations in inositol phosphates. It is suggested that synchronized repetitive spikes in [Ca2+]i might lead to oscillatory release of endothelial-derived substances such as prostacyclin, nitric oxide and endothelin, which have potent effects on the vascular system.

A myo-inositol D-3 hydroxykinase activity in Dictyostelium

A soluble ATP-dependent enzyme which phosphorylates myo-inositol has been characterized in Dictyostelium. The myo-inositol kinase activity was partially purified from amoebae by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose and phenyl-Sepharose columns. The product of both the partially purified activity and of a crude cytosolic fraction was myo-inositol 3-phosphate. The partially purified preparations of myo-inositol kinase (a) possessed a Km for myo-inositol of 120 microM (in the presence of 5 mM-ATP) and for ATP of 125 microM (in the presence of 1 microM-myo-inositol), (b) did not recognize allo-, epi-, muco-, neo-, scyllo-, 1 D-chiro or 1 L-chiro-inositol as substrates, (c) were competitively inhibited by three naturally occurring analogues of myo-inositol: 1 L-chiro-inositol (Ki 49.5 +/- 0.7 microM: the structural equivalent of myo-inositol, except that the D-3 hydroxy moiety is axial), D-3-deoxy-myo-inositol [Ki 103 +/- 1 microM: (-)-viburnitol], and sequoyitol (Ki 271 +/- 7 microM; unlike 1 L-chiro-inositol and D-3-deoxy-myo-inositol, this was a substrate for the kinase), and finally (d) were apparently non-competitively inhibited by myo-inositol 3-phosphate. The product of myo-inositol kinase could be detected in intact amoebae and was a substrate for the first in a series of inositol polyphosphate kinases present in Dictyostelium which ultimately yield myo-inositol hexakisphosphate. The activity of myo-inositol D-3-hydroxykinase in Dictyostelium lysates showed evidence of developmental regulation.

Synergistic control of Ca2+ mobilization in permeabilized mouse L1210 lymphoma cells by inositol 2,4,5-trisphosphate and inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate

L1210 lymphoma cells were permeabilized with digitonin, and the ability of Ins(2,4,5)P3 and Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 to mobilize intracellular Ca2+ was studied. At high doses of Ins(2,4,5)P3 Ca2+ was rapidly released from intracellular stores, and prior or subsequent addition of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 had no discernible effect. However, the Ca2(+)-mobilizing action of low (threshold or just above) concentrations of Ins(2,4,5)P3 was markedly enhanced by Ins(1,3,4,5)P4, which alone caused no mobilization of Ca2+; this phenomenon was shown not to be due to protection of Ins(2,4,5)P3 by the Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 against hydrolysis. The ability of the pre-addition of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 to enhance subsequent Ins(2,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ mobilization was always seen whether or not the free Ca2+ concentration was low (pCa = 7) or high (pCa = 6). However, at low Ca2+, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 could cause a further mobilization if added after the Ins(2,4,5)P3, whereas at higher Ca2+ values Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was only able to affect Ca2+ if added before Ins(2,4,5)P3. These effects of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 were not, at the same concentration, mimicked by a random mixture of InsP4 isomers obtained by partial acid hydrolysis of phytic acid, by Ins(1,3,4)P3 or by Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5, and they were shown not to be due to enzymic generation of Ins(1,4,5)P3 from Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 by (a) the absence of any detectable production of Ins(1,4,5)P3 if radiolabelled Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was used, or (b) the observation that Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 could mimic Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 provided that higher doses were used; this inositol phosphate, when added radiolabelled, yielded only trace quantities of D/L-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4, which itself does not mobilize Ca2+. We interpret these results overall to mean that in these cells there is a small proportion of the Ins(2,4,5)P3-mobilizable Ca2+ pools which can only be mobilized in the presence of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 [or at the least, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 can help Ins(2,4,5)P3 to gain access to them]. The significance of this conclusion is discussed in the light of current concepts of the second messenger function of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4.

Spatial dynamics of intracellular calcium in agonist-stimulated vascular smooth muscle cells

Vasoconstrictor agonists stimulate smooth muscle contraction by inducing a rise in intracellular free Ca2+. Digital-imaging microscopy of fura-2 fluorescence from single vascular smooth muscle cells cultured from the human internal mammary artery has allowed us to record the subcellular alterations in Ca2+ that occur immediately after stimulation by receptor agonists. The thrombin-induced rise in cytoplasmic free Ca2+ begins in a discrete region typically located close to the end of the cell. Subsequently, this region of elevated Ca2+ expands until Ca2+ is elevated throughout the cell cytoplasm. The rate of spreading in the region of elevated Ca2+ in a linear direction averaged 10.1 microns/s, enabling it to traverse the length of most cells within approximately 5 s, and involved rises in Ca2+ of between 200 and 500 nM. In some cells, the Ca2+ rise began at both ends and collided midway. Similar dynamic changes in the spatial distribution of Ca2+ were recorded in cells stimulated by acetylcholine. The novel observation that vasoconstrictor agonists induce an elevation of Ca2+ in a localized region which subsequently expands throughout the cytoplasm of single smooth muscle cells may provide new insight into the nature of Ca2+ signaling in vascular tissue.

Stepwise phosphorylation of myo-inositol leading to myo-inositol hexakisphosphate in Dictyostelium

Although myo-inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6; phytate) is the most abundant inositol phosphate in nature and probably has a wide variety of functions, neither the route of its synthesis from myo-inositol nor its metabolic relationships with other inositol-containing compounds (such as the second messenger inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, Ins(1,4,5)P3) are known. Here we report that the pathway by which InsP6 is synthesized in the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium, and in cell-free preparations derived from them, is catalysed by a series of soluble ATP-dependent kinases independently of the metabolism of both phosphatidylinositol and Ins(1,4,5)P3. The intermediates between myo-inositol and InsP6 are Ins3P, Ins(3,6)P2, Ins(3,4,6)P3, Ins(1,3,4,6)P4 and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5. The 3- and 5-phosphates of InsP6 take part in futile cycles in which Ins(1,2,4,5,6)P5 and Ins(1,2,3,4,6)P5 are rapidly formed by dephosphorylation of InsP6, only to be rephosphorylated to yield their precursor.

Agonist-stimulated inositol phosphate metabolism in avian erythrocytes

1. A screen for agonists capable of stimulating the formation of inositol phosphates in erythrocytes from 5-day-old chickens revealed the presence of a population of phosphoinositidase C-linked purinergic receptors. 2. If chicken erythrocytes prelabelled with [3H]Ins were exposed to a maximal effective dose of adenosine 5'-[beta-thio]diphosphate for 30 s, the agonist-stimulated increment in total [3H]inositol phosphates was confined to [3H]Ins(1,4,5)P3, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 and InsP2. After 40 min stimulation, the radiolabelling of nearly all of the [3H]inositol phosphates that have been detected in these extracts [Stephens, Hawkins & Downes (1989) Biochem. J. 262, 727-737] had risen. However, some of these increases [especially those in Ins(3,4,5,6)P4 and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5] were accountable for almost entirely by increases in specific radioactivity rather than in mass. 3. The effect of purinergic stimulation on the rate of incorporation of [32P]Pi in the medium into the gamma-phosphate group of ATP and InsP4 and InsP5 was also measured. After 40 min stimulation, the incorporation of 32P into Ins(1,3,4,6)P4, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4, Ins(3,4,5,6)P4 and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 was significantly elevated, whereas the mass of the last two and the specific radioactivity of the gamma-phosphate of ATP were unchanged compared with control erythrocyte suspensions. 4. In control suspensions of avian erythrocytes, the specific radioactivity of the individual phosphate moieties of Ins(1,3,4,6)P4 increased through the series 1, 6, 4 and 3 [Stephens & Downes (1990) Biochem. J. 265, 435-452]. This pattern of 32P incorporation is not the anticipated outcome of 6-hydroxy phosphorylation of Ins(1,3,4)P3 [the assumed route of synthesis of Ins(1,3,4,6)P4]. Although adenosine [beta-thio]diphosphate significantly stimulated the accumulation of [3H]Ins(1,3,4)P3, and despite the fact that avian erythrocyte lysates were shown to possess a chromatographically distinct, soluble, ATP-dependent, Ins(1,3,4)P3 6-hydroxykinase activity, purinergic stimulation of intact cells did not significantly alter the pattern of incorporation of [32P]Pi into the individual phosphate moieties of Ins(1,3,4,6)P4. These results suggest that the route of synthesis of this inositol phosphate species is not changed during the presence of an agonist.