Calcium mobilization in permeabilized fibroblasts: effects of inositol trisphosphate, orthovanadate, mitogens, phorbol ester, and guanosine triphosphate

A Proteome Strategy for Fractionating Proteins and Peptides Using Continuous Free-Flow Electrophoresis Coupled Off-Line to Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Extensive prefractionation is now considered to be a necessary prerequisite for the comprehensive analysis of complex proteomes where the dynamic range of protein abundances can vary from approximately 10(6) for cells to approximately 10(10) for tissues such as blood. Here, we describe a high-resolution 2D protein separation system that uses a continuous free-flow electrophoresis (FFE) device to fractionate complex protein mixtures by solution-phase isoelectric focusing (IEF) into 96 well-defined pools, each separated by approximately 0.02-0.10 pH unit depending on the gradient created, followed by rapid (approximately 6 min per analysis) reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of each FFE pool. Fractionated proteins are readily visualized in a virtual 2D format using software that plots protein loci, pI in the first dimension and relative hydrophobicity (i.e., RP-HPLC retention time) in the second dimension. By coupling a diode-array detector in line with a multiwavelength fluorescence detector, separated proteins can be monitored in the RP-HPLC eluent by both UV absorbance and intrinsic fluorescence simultaneously from a single experiment. Triplicate analyses of standard proteins using a pH 3-10 gradient conducted over a 3-day period revealed a high system reproducibility with a SD of 0.57 (0.05 pH unit) within the FFE pools and 0.003 (0.18 s) for protein retention times in the second-dimension RP-HPLC step. In addition, we demonstrate that the FFE-IEF/RP-HPLC separation strategy can also be applied to complex mixtures of low molecular weight compounds such as peptides. With the facile ability to measure the pH of the isoelectric focused pools, peptide pI values can be estimated and used to qualify peptide identifications made using either MS/MS sequencing approaches or pI discriminated peptide mass fingerprinting. The calculated peak capacity of this 2D liquid-based FFE-IEF/RP-HPLC system is 6720.

Multiple intracellular Ca2+ pools exist in human foreskin fibroblast cells: the effect of BK on release and filling of the non-cytosolic Ca2+ pools

Previously, we have used the classical approach to examine intracellular calcium stores in human foreskin fibroblasts (HSWP) cells. In this classical protocol cells are first permeabilized and then allowed to fill their Ca2+ reservoirs with 45Ca2+ in the presence of ATP. In this paper we present an alternative method to examine intracellular calcium pools. In this alternate protocol, whole cells are loaded to isotopic steady-state with 45Ca2+ and then permeabilized using digitonin. Comparison of the Ca2+ content of cells treated with these two methodologies reveals that cells treated with the alternate protocol have a Ca2+ content 3 orders of magnitude higher than those treated with the classical protocol. Using this alternative technique we demonstrate that there are 3 intracellular calcium pools in HSWP cells. These pools are: (i) an IP3-sensitive, thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ pool; (ii) an IP3-insensitive, thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ pool; and (iii) an ionomycin sensitive Ca2+ pool. The relationship between the Ca2+ pool mobilized by BK treatment and by IP3 treatment is also explored. Microinjection data shown here suggest that IP3 can mobilize all of the intracellular Ca2+ mobilized by BK. However, in the permeabilized system BK pretreatment followed by IP3 treatment can release more Ca2+ than can be release by IP3 treatment alone. We suggest one plausible explanation for this observation: when cells are treated using the alternative permeabilization protocol, communication occurs between an IP3-sensitive and an IP3-insensitive calcium pool. Thus BK pretreatment would empty the IP3-sensitive Ca2+ pool. This pool would subsequently be refilled with Ca2+ from a previously untapped, IP3-insensitive, Ca2+ reservoir and more Ca2+ would be available for subsequent release by IP3 treatment.

Interaction of vanadate with isolated rat parotid acini

1. In rat parotid acini, vanadate affects amylase secretion and intracellular messengers according to its concentration. 2. Low concentrations (in the micromolar range) concentrations of vanadate stimulate amylase secretion and potentiate the secretory effect of carbamylcholine, but inhibit the amylase release in response to isoproterenol. 3. Vanadate increases inositol phosphates (mono-, bis- and trisphosphate) and potentiate the stimulatory effect of carbachol on inositol bis- and trisphosphate. 4. Vanadate also decreases the intracellular cyclic AMP concentration and the increase in response to isoproterenol or forskolin. 5. High concentrations (in the millimolar range) of vanadate inhibit the increase in inositol phosphate induced by carbachol. 6. It is concluded that low concentrations of vanadate activate regulatory proteins coupled to phospholipase C and adenylate cyclase while high concentrations of vanadate inhibit inositol bisphosphatase.

Association of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ gradients with subcellular organelles

Previous investigations have identified gradients of intracellular free (Ca2+)i (Ca2+i) in the cytoplasm of human fibroblasts. In this study we have compared the spatial distribution of these gradients with the subcellular distribution of cytoplasmic organelles. Using the Ca(2+)-sensitive dye fura-2 and organelle-specific fluorescent dyes, we have found that the highest Ca2+ concentrations are found in the perinuclear cytoplasm and that these regions co-localize with the Golgi apparatus. The area occupied by the endoplasmic reticulum, which includes the Golgi region plus an adjacent area, is also significantly elevated above the average cellular (Ca2+)i. Most mitochondria are located in regions different from those with the highest (Ca2+)i. A variety of phenomena which could have given rise to artifactual (Ca2+)i gradients have been ruled out, including compartmentalization of fura-2 in subcellular organelles, incomplete hydrolysis of fura-2AM esters, and the presence of pH gradients which might change the Ca2+ binding characteristics of fura-2. The existence of gradients in (Ca2+)i between ER and Golgi containing regions of the cytoplasm supports the hypothesis (Sambrook: Cell 61:197-199, 1990) that the traffic of membrane bound vesicles from ER to Golgi is directed by local variations in (Ca2+)i.

Role of protein kinase C in the regulation of prostaglandin synthesis in human endothelium

The present study specifically addresses the role of protein kinase C (PKC) activation in human endothelial cell Ca2+ mobilization, a response that is functionally coupled to the production of the potent arachidonate (AA) metabolite, prostacyclin (PGI2). Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), alpha-thrombin, and sodium fluoride (NaF), a direct G-protein activator, produced a rapid and time-dependent translocation of PKC from the cytosol to the membrane. Activation of PKC by brief pretreatment of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) monolayers with PMA resulted in the inhibition of NaF-induced inositol phosphate increases and attenuation of both alpha-thrombin- and NaF-activated increases in intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i). Ca2+ mobilization induced by ionophore A23187 was not affected by PKC preactivation, suggesting PKC-dependent negative feedback inhibition of phosphatidylinositol (PI)-specific phospholipase C (PLC). Agonist-stimulated AA release and PGI2 synthesis in PMA-pretreated cultured human endothelial cells, however, was potentiated, and the enhanced PGI2 synthesis produced by A23187, NaF, and alpha-thrombin was dependent upon the dose of PMA. Treatment of HUVEC monolayers with an intracellular Ca2+ chelator, 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N'N'-tetraacetic acid-acetoxymethylester (BAPTA-AM), dramatically reduced alpha-thrombin-, NaF-, and A23187-induced PGI2 synthesis, demonstrating the importance of Ca2+i availability in PGI2 synthesis. BAPTA pretreatment did not inhibit PMA-induced PKC activation, and BAPTA-mediated inhibition of agonist-stimulated PGI2 synthesis was partially attenuated by prior PMA pretreatment. Staurosporine, a potent PKC inhibitor, at concentrations that inhibited PKC-induced phosphorylation of histone-1, augmented both alpha-thrombin- and NaF-induced production of inositol phosphates but markedly inhibited alpha-thrombin-, NaF-, and A23187-induced PGI2 synthesis. The downregulation of PKC activity by prolonged PMA treatment (18 h) produced similar inhibition of PGI2 synthesis by these agonists (approximately 50% inhibition). These studies indicate that the integrated phospholipase A2 and PLC activities are under complex regulation by factors that include both PKC activation and [Ca2+i]. PKC exerts dual effects on prostaglandin synthesis via negative regulation of Gp-coupled PI-specific PLC and positive feedback regulation of AA release and PGI2 synthesis. PKC is thus a critical determinant in the regulation of human endothelial cell prostaglandin synthesis by both receptor-mediated and G-protein-dependent cellular activation.

Calcium signals in growth factor signal transduction

There is a substantial amount of information which has been obtained concerning the effects of growth factors on [Ca2+]i in proliferating cells. A number of different mitogens are known to induce elevations in [Ca2+]i and some characterization of the Ca2+ response to different classes of mitogens has been obtained. In addition, much is known about whether the Ca2+ response to a particular growth factor occurs as the result of an influx of external Ca2+ or a mobilization of internal Ca2+ stores. In addition, a considerable amount of information is available on the mechanism by which the Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive internal Ca2+ store takes up and releases Ca2+. However, there is still a large deficiency in our information concerning other Ca2+ stores in proliferating cells as well as in our knowledge of the mechanisms for regulating Ca2+ entry pathways. Much more data addressing these issues exists for other types of agonist-stimulated cells, and we have discussed much of it in this review article. While the wealth of data in nonproliferating cells provides some indications of what mechanisms might be involved in the growth factor-induced changes in [Ca2+]i, it is clear that much work must be done in proliferating cells to fully understand how external factors such as growth factors control [Ca2+]i. In addition, much work remains to be done in identifying the mechanisms for the internal control of [Ca2+]i as cells move through the cell cycle and in identifying the role that these changes in [Ca2+]i may play throughout the cell cycle.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-induced calcium release in the organelle layers of the stratified, intact egg of Xenopus laevis

Using double-barreled, Ca2(+)-sensitive microelectrodes, we have examined the characteristics of the Ca2+ release by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) in the various layers of Xenopus laevis eggs in which the organelles had been stratified by centrifugation. Centrifugation of living eggs stratifies the organelles yet retains them in the normal cytoplasmic milieu. The local increase in intracellular free Ca2+ in each layer was directly measured under physiological conditions using theta-tubing, double-barreled, Ca2(+)-sensitive microelectrodes in which one barrel was filled with the Ca2+ sensor and the other was filled with Ins(1,4,5)P3 for microinjection. The two tips of these electrodes were very close to each other (3 microns apart) enabling us to measure the kinetics of both the highly localized intracellular Ca2+ release and its subsequent removal in response to Ins(1,4,5)P3 injection. Upon Ins(1,4,5)P3 injection, the ER-enriched layer exhibited the largest release of Ca2+ in a dosage-dependent manner, whereas the other layers, mitochondria, lipid, and yolk, released 10-fold less Ca2+ in a dosage-independent manner. The removal of released Ca2+ took place within approximately 1 min. The sensitivity to Ins(1,4,5)P3 and the time course of intracellular Ca2+ release in the unstratified (unactivated) egg is nearly identical to that observed in the ER layer of the stratified egg. Our data suggest that the ER is the major organelle of the Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive Ca2+ store in the egg of Xenopus laevis.

Endothelial inositol phosphate generation and prostacyclin production in response to G-protein activation by AlF4-

In order to elucidate the role of guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) in endothelial prostacyclin (PGI2) production, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, prelabelled with either [3H]inositol or [3H]arachidonic acid, were stimulated with the non-specific G-protein activator aluminium fluoride (AlF4-). AlF4- caused a dose- and time-dependent generation of inositol phosphates, release of arachidonic acid and production of PGI2. The curves for the three events were similar. When the cells were stimulated in low extracellular calcium (60 nM), they released [3H]arachidonic acid and produced PGI2, but depleting the intracellular Ca2+ stores by pretreatment with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 totally inhibited both events, although the cells still responded when extracellular Ca2+ was added. The Ca2+ ionophore did not inhibit the generation of inositol phosphates in cells maintained at low extracellular Ca2+. Pertussis toxin pretreatment (14 h) altered neither inositol phosphate nor PGI2 production in response to AlF4-. To investigate the functional role of the diacylglycerol/protein kinase C arm of the phosphoinositide system, the cells were pretreated with the protein kinase C activator 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) or the protein kinase C inhibitor 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulphonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H7). TPA inhibited the AlF4(-)-induced inositol phosphate generation but stimulated both the release of arachidonic acid and the production of PGI2. H7 had opposite effects both on inositol phosphate generation and on PGI2 production. These results suggest that AlF4(-)-induced PGI2 production is mediated by a pertussis-toxin-insensitive G-protein which activates the phosphoinositide second messenger system. This production of PGI2 can be modulated by protein kinase C activation, both at the level of inositol phosphate generation and at the level of arachidonic acid release.

Relationship between hormonal, GTP and Ins(1,4,5)P3-stimulated Ca2+ uptake and release in pancreatic acinar cells

Electrically permeabilized rat pancreatic acini were used to evaluate the contributions of GTP and Ins(1,4,5) P3 to hormone-stimulated Ca2+ uptake and release from intracellular pools. Treatment of permeabilized acini with Ca2+-mobilizing hormones, GTP or GTP[S] resulted in stimulation of an ATP-dependent, VO4(2-)-sensitive Ca2+ uptake into a non-mitochondrial intracellular pool. GTP and GTP[S] also augmented the hormone-mediated stimulation of Ca2+ uptake. Including oxalate in the uptake medium increased Ca2+ uptake into this pool but did not modify the stimulation of Ca2+ uptake induced by hormones or GTP. Ins(1,4,5)P3 released all the extra Ca2+ accumulated as a result of hormone, GTP or GTP[S] stimulation. Hence, these stimuli activated the Ca2+ pump localized in the membrane of the hormone and Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive Ca2+ pool. Including 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid (PGA) [an inhibitor of Ins(1,4,5)P3 hydrolysis] in the incubation medium blunted the GTP and GTP[S]-stimulated Ca2+ uptake. In the presence of PGA, the hormones inhibited Ca2+ accumulation, and GTP and GTP[S] augmented this effect. Accordingly, PGA stabilized the Ins(1,4,5)P3-evoked Ca2+ release from intracellular pools. Only in the presence of PGA was it possible to demonstrate hormonally-evoked Ca2+ release from permeabilized cells. GTP, and more importantly GTP[S], augmented the hormone-evoked Ca2+ release. Hormones and Ins(1,4,5)P3 in the presence or absence of GTP or GTP[S] released Ca2+ from the same intracellular pool. The extent of Ca2+ release caused by the combination of hormones and GTP or GTP[S] was similar to that evoked by Ins(1,4,5)P3 alone. Taken together, these results suggest that GTP or GTP[S] facilitates stimulation of phospholipase C by hormones. Such stimulation results in stimulation of protein kinase C and increased levels of Ins(1,4,5)P3 and is sufficient to explain the effects of GTP and GTP[S] on Ca2+ uptake and release from pancreatic acinar cells.

Coupling of bradykinin receptors to phospholipase C in cultured fibroblasts is mediated by a G-protein

In cultured foreskin fibroblasts, bradykinin stimulates inositol phosphate generation, arachidonic acid release, and Na+/H+ exchange, with doses of 1-3 nM yielding half-maximal stimulation. Binding of 3H-bradykinin to these cells demonstrates a single receptor site with a Kd of 2.0 nM and a Bmax of 91 fmoles/mg protein. Bradykinin analogs of the B2 type inhibit this binding. GTP synergizes with bradykinin to stimulate phosphatidylinositol turnover in permeabilized fibroblasts and GTP-gamma-S decreases the Bmax of bradykinin binding to fibroblast membranes, indicating that a G-protein couples the receptor to phospholipase C. Pretreatment of fibroblasts with either cholera or pertussis toxin enhances bradykinin stimulation of inositol phosphate accumulation.

Multiple intracellular pathways induce expression of a zinc-finger encoding gene (EGR1): relationship to activation of the Na/H exchanger

Intracellular pathways that rapidly stimulate the expression of a mitogen-inducible, zinc-finger encoding gene, EGR1 (Sukhatme et al., Cell 53:37-43), have been characterized in two human fibroblasts strains (WI-38 and HSWP). Serum and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were each found to strongly stimulate EGR1 expression in both cell types. Comparably high levels of expression could also be induced by treatment with the phorbol ester TPA. In cells rendered deficient in PK-C, serum and EGF were each still capable of inducing high levels of EGR1 mRNA, demonstrating that additional non-protein kinase C pathways are capable of stimulating EGR1 expression. In both fibroblasts strains, stimulation of EGR1 expression by all these agents exhibited rapid, transient kinetics and could be superinduced if protein synthesis was inhibited through the addition of cycloheximide. Finally, various agents, known to stimulate/inhibit the activation of another early mitogenic response, the activation of Na/H exchange, were analyzed for their effect on EGR1 expression. Interestingly bradykinin, vasopressin, and Ca ionophores, which dramatically stimulate Na/H exchange, were only weak stimulants of EGR1 expression. Conversely, EGF, which stimulates Na/H exchange poorly, strongly activated EGR1 expression. Hence while EGR1 expression could be triggered by multiple intracellular pathways, its expression does not appear to require the prior activation of Na/H exchange.

Protein kinase C-dependent and -independent mechanisms regulating the parotid substance P receptor as revealed by differential effects of protein kinase C inhibitors

Substance P-induced inositol trisphosphate (InsP3) formation was inhibited by 1 microM-4 beta-phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) in rat parotid acinar cells. The inhibitory effect of PDBu was reversed by the protein kinase C inhibitors H-7 or K252a. Substance P also elicits a persistent desensitization of subsequent substance P-stimulated InsP3 formation. However, this desensitization was not inhibited by H-7. In addition, H-7 had no effect on the time course of substance P-induced InsP3 formation. These results suggest that, although activation of protein kinase C by phorbol esters can inhibit the substance P receptor-linked phospholipase C pathway, this mechanism apparently plays little, if any, role in regulating this system after activation by substance P.

Transmodulation of the epidermal-growth-factor receptor in permeabilized 3T3 cells

Binding of murine epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its high-affinity receptor can be modulated by a variety of structurally unrelated mitogens. The transmodulation, however, is temperature-dependent and has not been observed in isolated membranes. We report here the transmodulation of high-affinity EGF receptors by platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF) and tumour-promoting phorbol esters in 3T3 cells even when they are rendered incapable of fluid-phase endocytosis by treatment with phenylarsine oxide or by permeabilization with lysophosphatidylcholine. The relative affinity of the EGF receptors in the absence of modulating agents is not significantly altered by phenylarsine oxide treatment. Thus the difference in affinity between the two classes of EGF receptors seems to be unrelated to dynamic membrane changes or to differential rates of internalization. In permeabilized cells, non-hydrolysable GTP analogues transmodulate the high-affinity EGF receptor; however, the effects of these analogues are blocked by the protein kinase C inhibitor chlorpromazine. In contrast, transmodulation by PDGF is not blocked by chloropromazine. Thus the high-affinity EGF receptor can be transmodulated by both protein kinase C-dependent or -independent pathways, and the transmodulation processes do not require fluid-phase endocytosis.

Thrombin and histamine activate phospholipase C in human endothelial cells via a phorbol ester-sensitive pathway

The effects of phorbol esters and synthetic diglycerides on thrombin- and histamine-stimulated increases in inositol trisphosphate (IP3) and cytosolic free calcium [( Ca2+]i) were studied in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HEC). Thrombin (0.003-3.0 U/ml) and histamine (10(-7)-10(-4) M) induced rapid increases in [Ca2+]i in suspended cells as monitored with the fluorescent calcium indicator fura-2. In [3H]myoinositol-labeled cells, both thrombin (3 U/ml)- and histamine (10(-4) M)-induced IP3 increases (195% +/- 6% and 98% +/- 4%, respectively) occurred in less than 15 sec and were temporally correlated with [Ca2+]i increases. Brief incubations (5-60 min) with different protein kinase C activators [4-beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (1-100 nM), mezerein (100 nM), and sn-1,2 dioctanoylglycerol (0.1-10 microM)] attenuated agonist-induced increases in [Ca2+]i. These compounds also inhibited thrombin- and histamine-stimulated IP3 formation, thus suggesting a tight coupling between phospholipase C activation and calcium flux in cultured HEC. Overall, these observations suggest that the pathway linking receptors to phospholipase C stimulation in human endothelial cells is sensitive to protein kinase C activation.

Protein kinase C differentially inhibits muscarinic receptor operated Ca2+ release and entry in human salivary cells

We investigated the effects of phorbol myristate acetate on muscarinic receptor-induced Ca2+ release from intracellular stores and extracellular entry in a human salivary duct cell line, HSG-PA. Phorbol myristate acetate (approximately 10(-7) M) blocked both Ca2+ release and Ca2+ entry induced by the muscarinic agonist carbachol. This blockade was the result of the activation of protein kinase C since 4 alpha-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate, which lacks the ability to activate protein kinase C, did not inhibit Ca2+ mobilization responses to carbachol. Importantly, at lower phorbol myristate acetate concentrations (approximately 10(-9) M), carbachol-induced Ca2+ release was blocked, but carbachol-induced Ca2+ entry was maintained. These results show that carbachol-induced Ca2+ entry does not occur via an intracellular store and that protein kinase C plays a role in a feedback control mechanism for muscarinic-induced Ca2+ mobilization at different levels.

Effects of phorbol ester on mitogen and orthovanadate stimulated responses of cultured human fibroblasts

Mitogenic stimulation of quiescent human fibroblasts (HSWP) with serum or a mixture of growth factors (consisting of vasopressin, bradykinin, EGF, and insulin) stimulates the release of inositol phosphates, mobilization of intracellular Ca, activation of Na/H exchange and subsequent incorporation of [3H]-thymidine. We have determined previously that pretreatment with the tumor-promoting phorbol ester 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) inhibits mitogen-stimulated Na influx in HSWP cells. We report herein that TPA pretreatment also substantially inhibits the mitogen-stimulated release of inositol phosphates in HSWP cells. Half maximal inhibition of mitogen-stimulated inositol phosphate release occurs at 1-2 nM TPA. Treatment of cells with TPA alone has no effect on inositol phosphate release. The effect of TPA pretreatment on inositol phosphate release induced by individual growth factors has also been determined. Orthovanadate, reported by Cassel et al. (1984) to increase Na/H exchange in A431 cells, has been demonstrated to stimulate both Na influx and inositol phosphate release in HSWP cells. TPA pretreatment also inhibits both orthovanadate-stimulated inositol phosphate release and Na influx. In addition, orthovanadate was determined to increase intracellular Ca activity by mobilizing intracellular calcium stores, as determined with the fluorescent intracellular calcium probe fura-2. TPA pretreatment blocks orthovanadate stimulated mobilization of intracellular Ca stores. It appears clear that in HSWP cells pretreatment of cells with phorbol ester is capable of artificially desensitizing the early cellular responses to mitogenic stimuli (growth factors, orthovanadate) by blocking the signal transduction mechanism involved at a point prior to the release of inositol phosphates. We hypothesize that in HSWP cells the normal desensitization of both inositol phosphate release and Na/H exchange is mediated via activation of protein kinase C subsequent to the stimulus-mediated activation of phospholipase C and release of protein kinase C activator diacylglycerol. However it is interesting to note that TPA-mediated inhibition of these early responses in HSWP cells does not inhibit their ability to be stimulated to incorporate [3H]-thymidine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Mitogen stimulation of Na+-H+ exchange: differential involvement of protein kinase C

The mitogen-induced activation of Na+-H+ exchange was investigated in two cultured human fibroblast strains (HSWP and WI-38 cells) that, based on previous studies, differed in their response to the tumor-promoting phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) (L. M. Vincentini and M. L. Villereal, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82: 8053-8056, 1985). The role of protein kinase C in the activation of Na+-H+ exchange was investigated by comparing the effects of TPA on Na+ influx, in vitro phosphorylation, and in vivo phosphorylation in both cell types. Although both cell types have significant quantities of protein kinase C activity that can be activated by TPA in intact cells, the addition of TPA to intact cells stimulates Na+ influx in WI-38 cells but not in HSWP cells, indicating that in HSWP cells the stimulation of protein kinase C is not sufficient to activate the Na+-H+ exchanger. Cells were then depleted of protein kinase C activity by chronic treatment with high doses of TPA. Both HSWP and WI-38 cells were rendered protein kinase C deficient by this treatment as determined by in vitro and in vivo phosphorylation studies. Protein kinase C-deficient HSWP cells lose the ability for TPA to inhibit the serum-induced activation of Na+-H+ exchange, but there is no reduction in the stimulation of Na+ influx by serum, bradykinin, vasopressin, melittin, or vanadate, indicating that protein kinase C activity is not necessary for the mitogen-induced activation of Na+-H+ exchange in HSWP cells by agents known to stimulate phosphatidylinositol turnover (G. A. Jamieson and M. Villereal. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 252: 478-486, 1987). In contrast, depletion of protein kinase C activity in WI-38 cells significantly reduces both the TPA- and the serum-induced activation of the Na+-H+ exchange system, suggesting that protein kinase C activity is necessary for at least a portion of the mitogen-induced activation of the Na+-H+ exchanger in WI-38 cells. These results indicate that the mechanisms for regulating Na+-H+ exchange can differ dramatically between different types of fibroblasts.