Protein kinase C delta specifically associates with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase following cytokine stimulation

Phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase is activated as a result of cytokine-induced association of the enzyme with specific tyrosine phosphorylated proteins. PI 3-kinase lipid products, PI 3,4-P-2 and PI 3,4,5-P-3, have been shown, in vitro, to directly activate novel and atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes. However, the mechanism by which PI 3-kinase may be involved in regulation of PKC isoforms in vivo is presently unknown. We investigated a possible relationship by looking for associations between these enzymes. We found that in a human erythroleukemia cell line, as well as in rabbit platelets, PI 3-kinase and PKC delta associate in a specific manner that is modulated by cell activation. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor treatment of cells caused increased association of PKC delta and PI S-kinase as did treatment of platelets with platelet-activating factor. Results using two PIS-kinase inhibitors, wortmannin and LY-294002, showed that the former inhibited this association, while the latter did not, suggesting that PI 3-kinase lipid products may not be a prerequisite for the PI 3-kinase/PKC delta association. Our results also suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of PKC delta is not involved in its association with PI 3-kinase.