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We have studied activation of phospholipase (PL) C and PLD in liver macrophages labelled with [3H]arachidonic acid. Zymosan, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), A23187 and fluoride but not arachidonic acid or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induce an activation of PLD ([3H]phosphatidylethanol (PEt) accumulation). An activation of PLC ([3H]diacylglycerol (DAG) accumulation) is measured with zymosan, PMA and fluoride but not with A23187, LPS or arachidonic acid whereas inositol phosphates are formed with zymosan, only. Removal of extracellular calcium reduces the formation of [3H]PEt and [3H]DAG while pretreatment of the cells with dexamethasone reduces [3H]PEt formation, only. PMA- and zymosan-induced activation of PLD and PMA-induced activation of PLC both seem to be mediated by protein kinase (PK) C-β whereas zymosan-induced activation of PLC is negatively controlled by PKC-δ. We could furthermore present evidence that the release of [3H]arachidonic acid in these cells occurs independent of an activation of PLD.

Summary Two new potent protein kinase C inhibitors, RO 31-8220 and RO 31-7549, and staurosporine were found to inhibit dose-dependently the phorbol ester-induced formation of prostaglandin E2and superoxide in cultured liver macrophages. Prostaglandin E2formation from exogenously added arachidonate was not affected by these compounds. The zymosan-induced formation of inositol phosphates was decreased by simultaneous addition of phorbol ester and was enhanced by prior desensitization of protein kinase C indicating that protein kinase C negatively modulates phospholipase C activation in these cells. While staurosporine suppressed almost totally the zymosan-induced formation of inositol phosphates, RO 31-8220 and RO 31-7549 inhibited the protein kinase C-mediated effect on inositol phosphate formation, only. Phagocytosis of zymosan was not affected by RO 31-8220 and RO 31-7549 but was decreased by staurosporine. These results demonstrate that two new potent protein kinase C inhibitors, RO 31-8220 and RO 31-7549, are more selective in their actions as staurosporine and are useful tools to determine an involvement of protein kinase C in cellular systems.

The biosynthesis of gangliosides was studied in developing biliary cirrhosis in rats 14, 28, and 42 days after bile duct obstruction. The total content and patterns of gangliosides in livers and sera, and the activity of six hepatic ganglioside syn-thases in a cell-free system were determined. Up to 7-fold increased synthase activities were strictly correlated in time and extent with increased total contents of gangliosides in liver and serum. In addition, altered patterns of serum gangliosides were observed. The results clearly demonstrate that the liver is the main source of elevated serum gangliosides in biliary cirrhosis in the rat. Increased hepatic biosynthesis and the secretion of gangliosides into the serum appear to be an important pathogenetic event. Alterations of hepatic enzyme activities indicate that GL 2 and GM 3 synthase regulate total hepatic ganglioside content. However, certain abnormalities in ganglioside patterns which were observed in the liver and sera of cirrhotic animals can not be explained by changes in hepatic enzyme activity. They indicate additional pathobiochemical mechanisms to be involved, e.g., altered hepatocellular processing and/or impaired secretion into bile.

This study evaluates the role of inositol phosphates as possible mediators of the activation of phospholipase A2 and NADPH oxidase in cultured rat liver macrophages. Inositol phosphate formation was achieved by zymosan, immune complexes, latex particles and calcium ionophore while the release of arachidonic acid and the formation of prostaglandin E2 was also elicited by phorbol ester and NaF, but not by latex particles; generation of superoxide was obtained by zymosan and phorbol ester only. The kinetics of the formation of inositol phosphates revealed that within the first few minutes after zymosan addition inositol trisphosphate was formed, followed by inositol bisphosphate and inositol monophosphate. Pre-treatment of the cells with dexamethasone or removal of extracellular calcium led to an inhibition of the zymosan-induced formation of inositol phosphates and prostaglandin E2 but had no effect on the generation of superoxide; inhibition of the Na+/H+ exchanger by removal of extracellular sodium ions led to a decrease of the zymosan-induced synthesis of prostaglandin E2, but did not affect the formation of inositol phosphates and superoxide. Pre-treatment of the cells with phorbol ester decreased the zymosan-induced synthesis of prostaglandin E2 and superoxide, but even enhanced the zymosan-induced formation of inositol phosphates. These data indicate that in cultured rat liver macrophages the formation of prostaglandins and superoxide cannot be correlated to an activation of phospholipase C.