Oleate-induced translocation of protein kinase C to hepatic microsomal membranes

Plastidial fatty acid levels regulate resistance gene-dependent defense signaling in Arabidopsis

In Arabidopsis, resistance to Turnip Crinkle Virus (TCV) depends on the resistance (R) gene, HRT, and the recessive locus rrt. Resistance also depends on salicylic acid (SA), EDS1, and PAD4. Exogenous application of SA confers resistance in RRT-containing plants by increasing HRT transcript levels in a PAD4-dependent manner. Here we report that reduction of oleic acid (18:1) can also induce HRT gene expression and confer resistance to TCV. However, the 18:1-regulated pathway is independent of SA, rrt, EDS1, and PAD4. Reducing the levels of 18:1, via a mutation in the SSI2-encoded stearoyl-acyl carrier protein-desaturase, or by exogenous application of glycerol, increased transcript levels of HRT as well as several other R genes. Second-site mutations in the ACT1-encoded glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase or GLY1-encoded glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase restored 18:1 levels in HRT ssi2 plants and reestablished a dependence on rrt. Resistance to TCV and HRT gene expression in HRT act1 plants was inducible by SA but not by glycerol, whereas that in HRT pad4 plants was inducible by glycerol but not by SA. The low 18:1-mediated induction of R gene expression was also dependent on ACT1 but independent of EDS1, PAD4, and RAR1. Intriguingly, TCV inoculation did not activate this 18:1-regulated pathway in HRT plants, but instead resulted in the induction of several genes that encode 18:1-synthesizing isozymes. These results suggest that the 18:1-regulated pathway may be specifically targeted during pathogen infection and that altering 18:1 levels may serve as a unique strategy for promoting disease resistance.

Proteomic Profiling of Hepatic Endoplasmic Reticulum-associated Proteins in an Animal Model of Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Dyslipidemia

Hepatic insulin resistance and lipoprotein overproduction are common features of the metabolic syndrome and insulin-resistant states. A fructose-fed, insulin-resistant hamster model was recently developed to investigate mechanisms linking the development of hepatic insulin resistance and overproduction of atherogenic lipoproteins. Here we report a systematic analysis of protein expression profiles in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) fractions isolated from livers of fructose-fed hamsters with the intention of identifying new candidate proteins involved in hepatic complications of insulin resistance and lipoprotein dysregulation. We have profiled hepatic ER-associated proteins from chow-fed (control) and fructose-fed (insulin-resistant) hamsters using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. A total of 26 large scale two-dimensional gels of hepatic ER were used to identify 34 differentially expressed hepatic ER protein spots observed to be at least 2-fold differentially expressed with fructose feeding and the onset of insulin resistance. Differentially expressed proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-quadrupole time of flight (MALDI-Q-TOF), MALDI-TOF-postsource decay, and database mining using ProteinProspector MS-fit and MS-tag or the PROWL ProFound search engine using a focused rodent or mammalian search. Hepatic ER proteins ER60, ERp46, ERp29, glutamate dehydrogenase, and TAP1 were shown to be more than 2-fold down-regulated, whereas alpha-glucosidase, P-glycoprotein, fibrinogen, protein disulfide isomerase, GRP94, and apolipoprotein E were all found to be up-regulated in the hepatic ER of the fructose-fed hamster. Seven isoforms of ER60 in the hepatic ER were all shown to be down-regulated at least 2-fold in hepatocytes from fructosefed/insulin-resistant hamsters. Implications of the differential expression of positively identified protein factors in the development of hepatic insulin resistance and lipoprotein abnormalities are discussed.

Oleic acid-induced PKC isozyme translocation in RAW 264.7 macrophages

Fatty acids are important second messengers that mediate various cellular functions, but their role in the formation of macrophage foam cells is not known. High plasma levels of oleic acid (OA) in obese patients are often associated with a high risk for atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated the protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes involved in OA-induced lipid accumulation in RAW 264.7 macrophages. The results show that OA induces translocation of PKC alpha, beta1, and delta from the cytosol to the cell membrane 5 min after the treatment. After 16 h incubation with OA, PKC delta was found to be colocalized with adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) on the surface of lipid droplets, but immunoprecipitation experiments showed that PKC delta was not biochemically associated with ADRP. After 16 h incubation with OA plus phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), PKC delta staining on the lipid droplet surface was not seen, whereas the accumulation of lipid droplets was unaffected. Furthermore, downregulation of PKC delta was confirmed by immunoblotting. These results demonstrate possible involvement of specific PKC isozymes in the early phase of lipid accumulation, possibly during the uptake of OA.

Mechanisms of regulation of liver fatty acid-binding protein

Liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) expression is modulated by developmental, hormonal, dietary, and pharmacological factors. The most pronounced induction is seen after treatment with peroxisome proliferators, which induce L-FABP coordinately with microsomal cytochrome P-450 4A1 and the enzymes of peroxisomal fatty acid beta-oxidation. These effects of peroxisome proliferators may be mediated by a receptor which has been shown to be activated by peroxisome proliferators in mammalian cell transfection studies. However, the peroxisome proliferators tested thus far do not bind to this receptor, known as the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), and its endogenous ligand(s) also remain unknown. Peroxisome proliferators inhibit mitochondrial beta-oxidation, and one hypothesis is that the dicarboxylic fatty acid metabolites of accumulated LCFA, formed via the P-450 4A1 omega-oxidation pathway, serve as primary inducers of L-FABP and peroxisomal beta-oxidation. We have tested this hypothesis in primary hepatocyte cultures exposed to clofibrate (CF). Inhibition of P-450 4A1 markedly diminished, via a pre-translational mechanism, the CF induction of L-FABP and peroxisomal beta-oxidation. In further experiments, long-chain dicarboxylic acids, the final products of the P-450 4A1 omega-oxidation pathway, but not LCFA, induced L-FABP and peroxisomal beta-oxidation pre-translationally. These results suggest a role, in part, for long-chain dicarboxylic acids in mediating the peroxisome proliferator induction of L-FABP and peroxisomal beta-oxidation. We also found that LCFA, which undergo rapid hepatocellular metabolism, could become inducers of L-FABP and peroxisomal beta-oxidation under conditions where their metabolism was inhibited.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dietary fatty acid modulation of events associated with mouse skin tumor promotion

Increasing levels of dietary corn oil have been correlated with inhibition of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-(TPA) promoted skin tumorigenesis in mice (Leyton et al. Cancer Res. 51, 907-915, 1991). This study was undertaken to assess the effects of dietary corn oil on several events associated with tumor promotion. Three semipurified diets containing 15% (wt/wt) total fat with increasing levels of linoleate (0.8%, 4.5%, and 8.4%) supplied by corn oil were fed to mice for at least four weeks. Although incorporation of linoleate into epidermal phosphatidylcholine increased with increasing amounts of dietary corn oil, the elongated desaturated product of linoleate, arachidonate, was similar or decreased slightly in mice fed the three diets. Minimal activity of delta 6-desaturase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of linoleate to arachidonic acid, was found in the epidermis compared with the liver, suggesting that linoleate is not converted to arachidonic acid in the skin. Subcellular distribution of protein kinase C was altered in mice fed 0.8% linoleate, where 69% of protein kinase C activity was in the cytosol compared with 78% and 74% for groups fed 4.5% and 8.4% linoleate, respectively. Activation of partially purified protein kinase C isolated from mouse epidermis by linoleate was significantly lower (p < 0.01) than that isolated by arachidonic acid. TPA-induced vascular permeability was significantly greater (p < 0.05), whereas hyperplasia 48 hours after TPA treatment was significantly lower, in mice fed the 8.4% linoleate diet. However, TPA induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity did not appear to be significantly modified by dietary linoleate. These data suggest that cellular processes associated with carcinogenesis are affected by the level of dietary linoleate.

Potencies of protein kinase C inhibitors are dependent on the activators used to stimulate the enzyme

The aim was to examine systematically the potencies of protein kinase C inhibitors as a function of the kinase activator. Protein kinase C is activated by at least four stimulators: calcium plus phosphatidylserine (Ca/PS), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus PS (PS/PMA), arachidonic acid plus calcium (Ca/AA) and the synthetic peptide activator PCK530-558. With histone or GS1-12 as substrates, protein kinase C was maximally activated by Ca/PS, or to maxima of 62%, 89% or 82% with PS/PMA, Ca/AA or PKC530-558, respectively. One group of inhibitors, including H-7 and staurosporine, were equipotent, regardless of the activator. All other inhibitors showed variable selectivity, dependent upon the activator. A second group of inhibitors, including sphingosine and lipophosphoglycan, were eight or 200 times more potent for inhibition of PS/PMA-stimulated activity (relative to Ca/PS) and a third group, including retinal and palmitoylcarnitine, were 14 or 262 times more potent towards Ca/PS-stimulated activity. A final group (rhodamine 6G) was nine times more potent when Ca/AA was the activator. Similar results were obtained using the endogenous substrates dephosphin or MARCKS in synaptosol. Phosphorylation of MARCKS was stimulated by PS/PMA or Ca/PS, while phosphorylation of dephosphin was stimulated only by Ca/PS. The phosphorylation of either by Ca/PS-activated kinase was nine times more potently inhibited by palmitoylcarnitine, while phosphorylation of MARCKS by PS/PMA-activated kinase was 10 times more potently inhibited by sphingosine. H-7 inhibited both at similar concentrations. A model encompasses these differences in potency if the inhibitors are divided into four groups (A-D) according to their competitive inhibition with the appropriate activator or at the active site. The non-selective inhibitors interact at the active sites of protein kinase C (group A). The compounds which preferentially inhibit PS/PMA-activated kinase (sphingosine and lipophosphoglycan) are competitive inhibitors of PMA and 1,2-diacylglycerol (group B), those selective for Ca/PS-activated kinase (palmitoylcarnitine and retinal) are competitive with PS (group C) and those selective for Ca-AA activation (rhodamine 6G) are likely to be competitive with fatty acid (group D). Therefore, the effectiveness of protein kinase C inhibitors is dependent upon the activator employed.

The role of protein kinase C and its neuronal substrates dephosphin, B-50, and MARCKS in neurotransmitter release

This article focuses on the role of protein phosphorylation, especially that mediated by protein kinase C (PKC), in neurotransmitter release. In the first part of the article, the evidence linking PKC activation to neurotransmitter release is evaluated. Neurotransmitter release can be elicited in at least two manners that may involve distinct mechanisms: Evoked release is stimulated by calcium influx following chemical or electrical depolarization, whereas enhanced release is stimulated by direct application of phorbol ester or fatty acid activators of PKC. A markedly distinct sensitivity of the two pathways to PKC inhibitors or to PKC downregulation suggests that only enhanced release is directly PKC-mediated. In the second part of the article, a framework is provided for understanding the complex and apparently contrasting effects of PKC inhibitors. A model is proposed whereby the site of interaction of a PKC inhibitor with the enzyme dictates the apparent potency of the inhibitor, since the multiple activators also interact with these distinct sites on the enzyme. Appropriate PKC inhibitors can now be selected on the basis of both the PKC activator used and the site of inhibitor interaction with PKC. In the third part of the article, the known nerve terminal substrates of PKC are examined. Only four have been identified, tyrosine hydroxylase, MARCKS, B-50, and dephosphin, and the latter two may be associated with neurotransmitter release. Phosphorylation of the first three of these proteins by PKC accompanies release. B-50 may be associated with evoked release since antibodies delivered into permeabilized synaptosomes block evoked, but not enhanced release. Dephosphin and its PKC phosphorylation may also be associated with evoked release, but in a unique manner. Dephosphin is a phosphoprotein concentrated in nerve terminals, which, upon stimulation of release, is rapidly dephosphorylated by a calcium-stimulated phosphatase (possibly calcineurin [CN]). Upon termination of the rise in intracellular calcium, dephosphin is phosphorylated by PKC. A priming model of neurotransmitter release is proposed where PKC-mediated phosphorylation of such a protein is an obligatory step that primes the release apparatus, in preparation for a calcium influx signal. Protein dephosphorylation may therefore be as important as protein phosphorylation in neurotransmitter release.

Lack of translocation of protein kinase C from the cytosol to the membranes in vasopressin-stimulated hepatocytes

The ability of Ca2(+)-mobilizing hormones to promote changes in the subcellular distribution of protein kinase C (PKC) was studied in isolated hepatocytes. In recently isolated cells the distribution of PKC between the soluble and particulate fractions was 47 and 53% respectively. Exposure of the hepatocytes to 100 nM-vasopressin produced an increased phosphoinositide turnover, as reflected by the changes in the concentrations of inositol trisphosphate and Ca2+, and in glycogen phosphorylase a activity. However, the distribution of both PKC activity and [3H]phorbol dibutyrate binding between the cytosol and the membranes remained unchanged under these conditions. To determine the threshold values of the concentrations of Ca2+ and diacylglycerol required to produce a redistribution of PKC, the hepatocytes were treated with the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin, and with permeant diacylglycerol derivatives. Hepatocytes incubated in the presence of 100 nM-vasopressin required concentrations of Ca2+ 2.5 times those produced physiologically by the hormone to produce translocation of PKC from the cytosol to the membranes. These studies suggest that, at least in hepatocytes, activation of PKC in response to Ca2(+)-mobilizing hormones involves only the pre-existent membrane-bound enzyme without affecting the soluble enzyme.

Functions of fatty acid binding proteins

Cytosolic fatty acid binding proteins (FABP) belong to a gene family of which eight members have been conclusively identified. These 14-15 kDa proteins are abundantly expressed in a highly tissue-specific manner. Although the functions of the cytosolic FABP are not clearly established, they appear to enhance the transfer of long-chain fatty acids between artificial and native lipid membranes, and also to have a stimulatory effect on a number of enzymes of fatty acid metabolism in vitro. These findings, as well as the tissue expression, ligand binding properties, ontogeny and regulation of these proteins provide a considerable body of indirect evidence supporting a broad role for the FABP in the intracellular transport and metabolism of long-chain fatty acids. The available data also support the existence of structure- and tissue-specific specialization of function among different members of the FABP gene family. Moreover, FABP may also have a possible role in the modulation of cell growth and proliferation, possibly by virtue of their affinity for ligands such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes and fatty acids, which are known to influence cell growth activity. FABP structurally unrelated to the cytosolic gene family have also been identified in the plasma membranes of several tissues (FABPpm). These proteins have not been fully characterized to date, but strong evidence suggest that they function in the transport of long-chain fatty acids across the plasma membrane.

Inhibitory effect of calcium-binding protein regucalcin on protein kinase C activity in rat liver cytosol

Regucalcin, a calcium-binding protein isolated from rat liver cytosol, inhibited Ca2(+)- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) activity in hepatic cytosol. With the increasing concentrations of Ca2+ or phosphatidylserine in the medium, regucalcin caused a remarkable inhibition of protein kinase C activity. Moreover, regucalcin significantly inhibited dioctanoylglycerol-activated protein kinase C. Regucalcin itself did not have protein kinase activity in either the presence or the absence of Ca2+ and phospholipids. These findings clearly indicate that regucalcin has an inhibitory effect on protein kinase C in hepatic cytosol. This inhibitory effect of regucalcin may be due to the regucalcin-induced Ca2+ binding and/or the direct binding of regucalcin to protein kinase C.

Comparison of substrate recognition by protein kinase C (type III) between rat liver cytosolic and particulate fractions

1. Phosphorylation of rat liver endogenous substrates by protein kinase C (type III) was compared between cytosolic and particulate (mitochondria, microsomes and plasma membrane) fractions. 2. The rate and the maximum level of protein phosphorylation were several-fold higher in particulate fractions than in cytosolic fraction. 3. Protein phosphorylation in cytosolic fraction was dependent on both Ca2+ and phospholipid, but only Ca2+ was necessary in phosphorylation of particulate fractions. 4. These results suggest that protein kinase C (type III) has much more target proteins in particulate fractions rather than in cytosolic fraction and Ca2+ was important regulator in particulate protein phosphorylation.

Lipid activators of protein kinase C

Among the many reported lipid activators of protein kinase C only those of high affinity can be considered true physiological effectors, at present the tumor promoters, e.g., phorbol esters; 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols; and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Many other compounds (including arachidonic acid) are activators at high, unphysiological concentrations only, and they seem to be sterically unsuited for bonding to the enzyme. Such pseudo-activators possibly act by scrambling the structure of the regulatory moiety of the kinase.