ENDOTHELIN STIMULATES PHOSPHATIDIC-ACID FORMATION IN CULTURED RAT MESANGIAL CELLS - ROLE OF A PROTEIN-KINASE C-REGULATED PHOSPHOLIPASE-D

We have previously reported that endothelin-1 stimulates phospholipase C-induced hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate, Other signal transduction pathways that hydrolyze alternative phospholipids through phospholipase D may also mediate endothelin-stimulated cellular responses. We initially evaluated endothelin-dependent generation of P-32-phosphatidic acid as an indirect indication of phospholipase D activity in rat mesangial cells. Endothelin (10(-7) M) induced an elevation of phosphatidic acid that was maximal at 15 min and persisted upward of 60 min. Pretreatment with the diacylglycerol-kinase inhibitor, R59022, did not reduce formation of endothelin-stimulated P-32-phosphatidic acid, demonstrating that the sequential actions of phospholipase C/diacylglycerol kinase do not contribute to endothelin-stimulated phosphatidic acid formation. We next conclusively identified a role for phospholipase D in the generation of phosphatidic acid by assessing the formation of H-3-phosphatidylethanol from H-3-alkyl lyso glycerophosphocholine and exogenous ethanol. Endothelin stimulated H-3-alkyl phosphatidylethanol formation in the presence but not the absence of 0.5% ethanol. Also, endothelin induced a concomitant elevation of H-3-alkyl-phosphatidic acid that was significantly reduced when the cells were exposed to exogenous ethanol, reflecting the formation of phosphatidylethanol. In addition, endothelin stimulated the release of H-3-choline and H-3-ethanolamine, demonstrating that additional phospholipids may serve as substrates for phospholipase D. Phorbol esters and synthetic diglycerides mimicked the effects of endothelin to stimulate phospholipase D and inhibitors of protein kinase C significantly reduced endothelin-stimulated phospholipase D. In addition, endothelin did not stimulate phosphatidylethanol formation in protein kinase C down-regulated cells. The calcium ionophore, ionomycin, did not stimulate phospholipase D and mesangial cells pretreated with BAPTA to chelate cytosolic calcium did not show a diminished endothelin-stimulated phospholipase D. Thus these data demonstrate that mesangial cells possess a protein kinase C-regulated phospholipase D activity that can be stimulated with endothelin.