Okadaic acid increased annexin I and induced differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cells.

The differentiation of a cell line of human promyelocytic leukemia, HL-60 cells, triggered by 12-O-tetradecanoyl 13-phorbol acetate (TPA), depends on the phosphorylation of some proteins, such as 17, 27, and 34 kDa proteins, by protein kinase C. For elucidation of the mechanism of ligand-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells, the effects of okadaic acid (OA), a phosphatase inhibitor, on cell differentiation and protein phosphorylation were studied. After treatment with OA, HL-60 cells differentiated into macrophage-like cells; within 16 h, 70% or more of the treated cells adhered to plastic dishes. The adherent cells did not undergo mitosis but began activities such as phagocytosis. OA increased the phosphorylation of 17, 23, 27, and 34 kDa proteins, as did TPA. The amount of annexin I (39 kDa protein) in HL-60 cells caused to differentiate with OA was 7.5-fold that without such treatment. Kinetic analysis showed that increased transcription of annexin I mRNA caused the increase in annexin I in the differentiated cells. Thus, OA and TPA increased cellular levels of annexin I and caused the differentiation of HL-60 cells into macrophage-like cells.

Differentiation of HL-60 cells by phorbol ester is correlated with up-regulation of protein kinase C-alpha.

To clarify the mechanism of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced macrophage-like differentiation of HL-60 cells, we investigated the correlation between the effects of protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors on the induction of markers of TPA-induced differentiation and those on suggested critical steps of the differentiation. H-7, sphingosine, and trifluoroperazine significantly suppressed TPA-induced cell adhesion but their effects on the induction of acid phosphatase and nonspecific esterase differed among the inhibitors. The three inhibitors failed to affect on TPA-induced annexin I expression. In contrast, staurosporine markedly suppressed the induction of all these markers. The effects of the inhibitors on some suggested critical steps of the differentiation, a rapid phosphorylation of specific proteins, a rapid membrane association of PKC, and down-regulation of PKC at 18 h after addition of TPA, were not correlated with those on the differentiation marker induction. Only the effect of the inhibitors on up-regulation of PKC-alpha was closely correlated with TPA-induced annexin I expression; staurosporine inhibited up-regulation of PKC-alpha but other inhibitors did not similarly affect the induction of annexin I expression. These results suggest that PKC-alpha is intimately related to macrophage-like differentiation of HL-60 cells by TPA.

Requirement of protein association with membranes for phosphorylation by protein kinase C.

To clarify the requirement of the association of substrate proteins with phospholipid membranes for phosphorylation by protein kinase C (PKC), we studied the relationship between membrane association of PKC-substrate proteins and their phosphorylation by PKC. In the presence of phosphatidylserine, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate induced PKC autophosphorylation in either the presence or the absence of Ca2+, and this phosphorylation was not inhibited by increasing salt concentration (up to 200 mM NaCl). Thus, Ca2+ and ionic strength did not markedly affect the enzymatic activity of PKC. Annexin I required Ca2+ for both its association with phospholipid membranes and phosphorylation by PKC, whereas histone and monomyristilated lysozyme (C14:0-lysozyme) did not. This result indicates that the membrane association of substrates closely correlates with their phosphorylation by PKC. Similar correlation was also observed in the effects of ionic strength on the membrane association of the substrates and their phosphorylation by PKC; increased ionic strength (200 mM NaCl) remarkably inhibited both the membrane association and the phosphorylation of histone and annexin I by PKC but C14:0-lysozyme was not markedly affected. These results suggest that the membrane association of PKC-substrate proteins is a prerequisite for their phosphorylation by PKC. This concept further conforms to the mechanisms of PKC inhibitors; some types of PKC inhibitors are mediated all or in part through inhibition of the substrate-membrane interaction.

Modulation of TNF-alpha-priming and stimulation-dependent superoxide generation in human neutrophils by protein kinase inhibitors.

Human peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes (HPPMN) from healthy individuals are not primed and, hence, weak stimulation-dependent responses are induced by certain stimuli which bind to membrane receptors. When HPPMN were exposed to recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha (rHuTNF-alpha) or recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rG-CSF), they underwent priming and the rate of superoxide anion (O.-2) generation was increased by subsequent exposure to formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) or opsonized zymosan (OZ). However, the degree of enhancement was very small upon exposure to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or dioctanoyl glycerol (DOG). The oxygen burst induced by FMLP or OZ was inhibited by genistein and alpha-cyano-3-ethoxy-4-hydroxy-5-phenylthiomethylcinnamamid (ST638), which are inhibitors of tyrosine kinase (TK), and was enhanced by 1-(5-isoquinoline-sulfonyl)-3-methyl-piperazine (H-7) and staurosporine, which are inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC). Without priming, however, O.-2 generation from HPPMN by high concentrations of FMLP was not inhibited strongly by genistein or ST638. On the contrary, the oxygen burst induced by PMA or DOG was stimulated by genistein or ST638 and was inhibited by H-7 or staurosporine. Furthermore, O.-2 generation by guinea pig peritoneal neutrophils, which are already primed in vivo, was induced markedly by FMLP by a mechanism which was stimulated by a low concentration of genistein or ST638. Thus, FMLP-mediated O.-2-generation of HPPMN is coupled with rHuTNF-alpha- or rG-CSF-priming and is inhibited by TK inhibitors, whereas PMA- or DOG-induced O.-2 generation is not coupled with TNF-alpha or G-CSF-priming and is inhibited by PKC inhibitors. These results suggest that both PKC and TK play critical roles in the regulatory mechanism of priming and NADPH-oxidase activation in neutrophils.

Inhibition of 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate promoted tumorigenesis by cepharanthine, a biscoclaurine alkaloid, in relation to the inhibitory effect on protein kinase C.

In two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesis initiated by 7,12-dimethylbenz[alpha]anthracene (DMBA), cepharanthine inhibited the tumor promoting activity of 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Since Ca2(+)-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (PKC) was shown to be an intracellular target of TPA, effects of cepharanthine on the activity of this enzyme were investigated Cepharanthine also inhibited the phosphorylation of H1 histone by PKC in a concentration dependent manner. While cepharanthine inhibited the association of H1 histone with phospholipid vesicles, autophosphorylation of PKC was not inhibited by this drug. Cepharanthine also inhibited TPA-stimulated phosphorylation of some cytoplasmic proteins of mouse skin epidermis. These results indicated the possibility that anti-tumor promoting action of cepharanthine was the result of inhibition of PKC dependent cytoplasmic protein phosphorylation through the reduction of the interaction of these proteins with the plasma membrane.