A new phospholipase C delta 4 is induced at S-phase of the cell cycle and appears in the nucleus

To discover a new phospholipase C (PLC) related to cell growth, we screened a cDNA library prepared from regenerating rat liver. A novel PLC (PLC delta 4) encoding a polypeptide of 770 amino acids with structural similarity to PLC delta-type isozymes was isolated. PLC delta 4 mRNA is expressed more remarkably in regenerating liver than in normal resting liver. It is also distributed abundantly in tumor cells such as hepatoma and src-transformed cells. Furthermore, its expression can be induced markedly by serum treatment and reaches a maximum at 8 h. Western blot analysis and immunocytochemical staining showed that PLC delta 4 is dominantly present in nucleus. Nuclear PLC delta 4 dramatically increases at the transition from G(1)- to S-phase, and the high content continues to the end of M-phase. PLC delta 4 almost disappears when cells re-enter the next G(1) phase. On the other hand, the contents of PLC beta 1, PLC gamma 1, and PLC delta 1 do not change significantly during the cell cycle. These results suggest that PLC delta 4 is expressed in nucleus in response to mitogenic stimulation and plays important roles in cell growth as one of the early genes expressed during the transition from G(1)- to S phase in the cell cycle.