Search

Exogenously added phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdInsP2) is rapidly associated with cerebral-cortical membranes. Substrate association with membranes was promoted by Mg2+, but inhibited by bivalent chelators. Once associated with the membrane, the PtdInsP2 was resistant to displacement by EDTA. The apparent phospholipase C activity was dependent on the degree of association of substrate with membranes. After preincubation of membranes with substrate, PtdInsP2 hydrolysis was independent of the incubation volume, indicating that substrate and membrane-associated phospholipase C were not independently diluted. Hydrolysis of the membrane-associated substrate was stimulated by Ca2+, guanosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG), guanosine 5'[gamma-thio]triphosphate and carbachol in the presence of p[NH]ppG. Carbachol in the absence of guanine nucleotides, GDP, GTP, ATP and pyrophosphate was ineffective. These results demonstrate that exogenously added PtdInsP2 substrate is rapidly associated with membranes and hydrolysed by a phospholipase C whose activity is regulated by guanine nucleotides and agonist in the presence of guanine nucleotides. Use of exogenously added substrate for studies on the regulation of membrane phospholipase C requires consideration as to possible effects of incubation conditions on the partitioning of substrate into membranes.

Guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate (p[NH]ppG) stimulated a rapid phospholipase C-mediated breakdown of exogenously added phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) in rat cerebral-cortical membranes, with half-maximal activation at approx. 33 microM. NaF stimulated phospholipase C activity, with half-maximal activation at 0.5 mM. Stimulation of phospholipase C activity by NaF exhibited pH optima at approx. 5.5 and 7.0, with the stimulatory activity at pH 7.0 greater than that at pH 5.5. With p[NH]ppG, only stimulation at pH 7.0 was observed. Neither p[NH]ppG nor NaF stimulated hydrolysis of added phosphatidylinositol (PI) or phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PIP). Mg2+ (0.5 mM) potentiated p[NH]ppG-stimulated breakdown of PIP2. Ca2+ increased basal and p[NH]ppG-stimulated breakdown of PIP2. PI breakdown was stimulated only by high Ca2+ concentrations and was unaffected by p[NH]ppG at any Ca2+ concentration examined. These results indicate that, in cerebral-cortical membranes, activation of phospholipase C by guanine nucleotides or fluoride directly increases a phospholipase C activity which specifically hydrolyses PIP2.

In cerebral-cortical membranes, hydrolysis-resistant guanine nucleotides exert a dual regulatory effect on phospholipase C activity. Nanomolar concentrations of guanosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG) or guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTP[S]) inhibited basal phospholipase C activity, with a maximum inhibition of 30% at 10 nM. Increasing the concentration of p[NH]ppG or GTP[S] to over 10 nM resulted in a reversal of the inhibitory effect and onset of stimulation of phospholipase C activity. These inhibitory effects were blocked by 100 microM-guanosine 5'-[beta-thio]diphosphate. GTP was relatively ineffective in producing either stimulation or inhibition of phospholipase C activity. Similarly, ATP, adenosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate and GDP were also ineffective. Expression of the dual effects of guanine nucleotides was affected by the Mg2+ concentration. At 0.3 mM-Mg2+, both the inhibitory and the stimulatory components of p[NH]ppG action were evident. At 2.5 mM-Mg2+, only p[NH]ppG stimulation was observed. Pertussis-toxin treatment blocked the p[NH]ppG-mediated inhibition of phospholipase C activity. These results demonstrate that non-hydrolysable guanine nucleotides exert both a stimulatory and an inhibitory effect on membrane phospholipase C activity. These effects may be mediated through distinct GTP-binding proteins.