Stimulation of phosphate uptake in human platelets by thrombin and collagen. Changes in specific 32P labeling of metabolic ATP and polyphosphoinositides

Clinical and laboratory features associated with serum phosphate concentrations in malaria and other febrile illnesses

Background

Hypophosphatemia is common in severe infections including malaria. Previous studies suggested that serum phosphate concentrations correlate with temperature, but it is unclear whether the type of infection and other factors occurring during infection influence this association. Here relationships were investigated between serum phosphate levels, cause of fever, demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters.

Methods

Anonymized data were analysed from 633 adults with malaria or other febrile illness admitted to Northwick Park Hospital, London, UK. Univariable and multivariable generalized linear model analyses were performed to examine associations with serum phosphate levels. Interaction terms were included to investigate whether cause of fever (malaria vs other illness), malaria parasite species, or malaria severity influenced the association of other variables with phosphate.

Results

Hypophosphatemia was common in subjects with malaria (211/542 (39%)), and in other febrile illnesses (24/91 (26%)), however median phosphate levels did not differ significantly by diagnostic group, parasite species or severity of malaria. In all analyses, there were highly significant negative associations between serum phosphate and axillary temperature, and positive associations between serum phosphate and platelet count. There were no significant interactions between these variables and cause of fever, parasite species or severity of illness. Sodium and potassium concentrations were associated with serum phosphate in subjects with malaria and when data from all subjects was combined.

Conclusion

Serum phosphate is consistently associated with temperature and platelet count in adults with diverse causes of fever. This may be a consequence of phosphate shifts from plasma into cells to support ATP generation for thermogenesis and platelet activation.

Phosphoinositide and inositol phosphate analysis in lymphocyte activation

Lymphocyte antigen receptor engagement profoundly changes the cellular content of phosphoinositide lipids and soluble inositol phosphates. Among these, the phosphoinositides phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) play key signaling roles by acting as pleckstrin homology (PH) domain ligands that recruit signaling proteins to the plasma membrane. Moreover, PIP2 acts as a precursor for the second messenger molecules diacylglycerol and soluble inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), essential mediators of PKC, Ras/Erk, and Ca2+ signaling in lymphocytes. IP3 phosphorylation by IP3 3-kinases generates inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (IP4), an essential soluble regulator of PH domain binding to PIP3 in developing T cells. Besides PIP2, PIP3, IP3, and IP4, lymphocytes produce multiple other phosphoinositides and soluble inositol phosphates that could have important physiological functions. To aid their analysis, detailed protocols that allow one to simultaneously measure the levels of multiple different phosphoinositide or inositol phosphate isomers in lymphocytes are provided here. They are based on thin layer, conventional and high-performance liquid chromatographic separation methods followed by radiolabeling or non-radioactive metal-dye detection. Finally, less broadly applicable non-chromatographic methods for detection of specific phosphoinositide or inositol phosphate isomers are discussed. Support protocols describe how to obtain pure unstimulated CD4+CD8+ thymocyte populations for analyses of inositol phosphate turnover during positive and negative selection, key steps in T cell development.

Analysis of inositol phospholipid turnover during lymphocyte activation

Receptor-mediated activation of phospholipase C (PLC) leads to the hydrolysis of membrane inositol phospholipids, generating diacylglycerol (DAG) and water-soluble inositol phosphates. This signaling mechanism is used by antigen receptors on T and B cells that have been implicated as mediators of receptor-induced influx of extracellular Ca(2+). This unit provides protocols that describe the resolution of InsP by Dowex anion-exchange chromatography. This technique provides a reliable means of separating inositol monophosphate, inositol bisphosphate, and inositol trisphosphate, but does not resolve isomers of these. An Alternate Protocol describes the separation of inositol phosphates by anion-exchange HPLC. A protocol for resolution of inositol phospholipids by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is also provided.

Resveratrol inhibits polyphosphoinositide metabolism in activated platelets

The effects of resveratrol (trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) on activation responses and the polyphosphoinositide metabolism in human blood platelets have been studied. Resveratrol partially inhibited secretory responses (liberation of dense granule nucleotides and lysosomal acid hydrolases), microparticle formation and protein phosphorylations induced by thrombin. The effects of resveratrol on phosphoinositide metabolites, phosphatidate (PtdOH), phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PtdIns-4(5)-P), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns-4,5-P2), phosphatidylinositol-3,4-bisphosphate (PtdIns-3,4-P2) and phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns-3,4,5-P3) were monitored in blood platelets prelabelled with [32P]Pi. Resveratrol not only inhibited the marked increase in levels of PtdOH in platelets activated by thrombin (0.1 U/ml) but it decreased the steady state levels of the other polyphosphoinositide metabolites. The distribution of 32P in phosphoinositides in activated platelets was consistent with inhibition of CDP-DAG inositol transferase and a weak inhibition of PtdIns-4(5)-P kinase. These observations show that resveratrol has a profound effect on phospholipids, particularly on polyphosphoinositide metabolism, and may decrease the amount of PtdIns-4,5-P2 available for signalling in these cells.

Alteration of thrombine-signaling mechanism by heptachlor in human platelets

Heptachlor is a persistent organochlorine insecticide that has been detected in human tissues and fluids. The ability of heptachlor to interfere with platelet phosphoinositides metabolism and related signaling events stimulated by thrombin was evaluated. In vitro incubations with a concentration range of 1-100 microM heptachlor, prior to platelets activation, were performed. Experiments showed that 10 microM increased protein Kinase C (PKC) activity and phosphatidylinositolbiphosphate and phosphatidic acid phosphorylation. Simultaneously phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine breakdown were prevented. Similar effects were observed with HC 1 microM. However, heptachlor 100 microM increased phosphatidylinositolbiphosphate phosphorylation but reduced serine/threonine kinases activity. We propose that signal transduction steps downstream phospholipase C (PLC) are unphysiologically activated by heptachlor and facilitated by the increase in phosphatidylinositolbiphosphate, the substrate for PLC activity, thus producing an accumulation of phosphatidic acid. The elevated level of this compound itself or the transient increase in diacylglycerol produced may cause calcium mobilization and the activation of PKC. In contrast with the alterations observed in phospholipids and protein phosphorylation, no changes in aggregation properties were observed.

Elevation of cyclic AMP decreases phosphoinositide turnover and inhibits thrombin-induced secretion in human platelets

Elevation of cyclic AMP (cAMP) in platelets inhibits agonist-induced, G protein-mediated responses and activation of polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PLC) by ill-defined mechanism(s). Signal transduction steps downstream of PLC are inhibited by elevated cAMP, suggesting an inhibitory effect of cAMP, via protein kinase A, on PLC. In [32P]i-prelabeled platelets, forskolin increased intracellular cAMP (104 nmol/1011 cells at 10-5 M forskolin) and [32P]phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (Delta[32P]PIP) (30% at 10-7-10-6 M forskolin). The thrombin-induced (0.1 U/ml) increase in production of [32P]PA, 'overshoots' in [32P]PIP and [32P]PIP2 ([32P]phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate), and the increase in [32P]PI and secretion of ADP+ATP were abolished by forskolin (10-7 M). Forskolin stimulated total [32P]Pi uptake in resting platelets (48%), increased 32P incorporation into PIP (110%), and inhibited 32P incorporation into PI (50%). The latter inhibition was most likely considerably greater due to the forskolin-induced stimulation of [32P]Pi uptake. The changes in radioactive PA, PIP and PIP2 are regarded as being proportional with their masses in the prelabeled platelets, while the increase in PI (phosphatidylinositol) is regarded as a change in specific radioactivity, and hence in its synthesis. The results suggest that cAMP elevation inhibits the flux in the polyphosphoinositide cycle through both inhibition of PIP 5-kinase and PI synthesis. The inverse relation between forskolin-produced DeltaPIP and [32P]PA production suggests that the PLC reaction is inhibited by elevated cAMP through reduction of substrate (PIP2) resynthesis, and not by inhibition of the PLC enzyme.

Glutamine transport and enzymatic activities involved in glutaminolysis in human platelets

Glutamine is actively metabolized in human platelets, representing a preferential mitochondrial oxidative substrate in these cells. The primary importance of this metabolic route of glutamine is further confirmed here by the observation that platelet glutaminase activity is entirely represented by the phosphate dependent glutaminase or glutaminase I, most probably localized in the mitochondrial platelet fraction and classified by kinetic analysis as a kidney-type form. The following step of the glutamine metabolizing pathway, allowing the entrance of the amino acid skeleton carbons in the Krebs cycle, might be catalyzed by both glutamate dehydrogenase and aspartate transaminase, the first being entirely mitochondrial and the latter 65% mitochondrial. We also investigated platelets for the presence of one or more specific transport systems involved in glutamine uptake and we present the first evidence for two glutamine transport systems in human platelets that by inhibition analysis appear to share characteristics with the Na(+)-dependent ASC system and the Na(+)-independent L system for dipolar amino acid uptake. Both systems display affinity characteristics for glutamine in the range of plasma glutamine concentration and may thus have physiological relevance for the uptake of the amino acid in these cells.

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.

Physiological functions of platelets

Platelets are discoid, anucleate cells with a large number of secretory granules. Physiological agonists (thrombin, collagen, ADP, adrenaline, thromboxane A2, serotonin, vasopressin) interact with specific receptors on the platelet surface which causes the platelet responses shape change, aggregation, secretion of substances from three types of granules and liberation of arachidonate from membrane phospholipids. Some secreted substances and conversion products of arachidonate are platelet agonists and enhance platelet stimulation (positive feedback). The shape change and aggregation responses are of central importance for platelet adhesion to the subendothelium and formation of platelet thrombi. Dense granule secretion and the storage of ADP, ATP, Ca2+ and serotonin, a-granule secretion of platelet-specific, cationic, coagulation and carbohydrate-containing proteins as well as secretion of glycosidases are also shown to be important for platelet participation in haemostasis and thrombosis. Signal transduction mechanisms (phospholipase C activation, polyphosphoinositide metabolism, Ca2+ mobilization) and arachidonate oxygenation are central processes for the physiological functions of platelets.

Use of actin-bound adenosine 5'-diphosphate as a method to determine the specific 32P-radioactivity of the gamma-phosphoryl group of adenosine 5'-triphosphate in a highly compartmentalized cell, the platelet

Determination of the specific 32P-radioactivity of cytoplasmic ATP in 32P-Pi-labeled platelets is complicated by the presence of a large pool of metabolically inactive, granule-stored nucleotides. Moreover, our data show that the specific 32P-radioactivity of cytoplasmic ATP is severely underestimated when determined in platelets after the complete secretion of granule-stored nucleotides, possibly due to isotopic dilution with granule-stored phosphate. As F-actin-bound ADP is ethanol-insoluble, this pool can be readily separated from the other nucleotide pools in platelets. Here we show that the specific 32P-radioactivity of F-actin-bound ADP accurately reflects that of the gamma-phosphoryl group of cytoplasmic ATP. During uptake of 32P-Pi by human platelets the specific 32P-radioactivity of F-actin-bound ADP equals that of the monoester phosphates of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, which are in metabolic equilibrium with cytoplasmic ATP. Therefore, this method enables the determination of the specific 32P-radioactivity of the gamma-phosphoryl group of cytoplasmic ATP in platelets even under short-term labeling conditions.