Concomitant recruitment of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK signalling pathway is required for activation of cytoplasmic phospholipase A2 via ATP in articular chondrocytes.

Extracellular ATP is a pro-inflammatory mediator involved in the release of prostaglandin from articular chondrocytes, but little is known about its effects on intracellular signaling. ATP triggered the rapid release of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) by acting on P2Y(2) receptors in rabbit articular chondrocytes. We have explored the signaling events involved in this synthesis. ATP significantly increased arachidonic acid production, which involved the activation of the 85-kDa cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) but not a secreted form of PLA(2), as demonstrated by various PLA(2) inhibitors and translocation experiments. We also showed that ATP induced the phosphorylation of p38 and ERK1/2 mitogen-activated-protein kinases (MAPKs). Both PD98059, an inhibitor of the ERK pathway, and SB203580, an inhibitor of p38 MAPK, completely inhibited the ATP-induced release of PGE(2). Finally, dominant-negative plasmids encoding p38 and ERK transfected alone into the cells impaired the ATP-induced release of PGE(2) to about the same extent as both plasmids transfected together. These results suggest that PGE(2) production induced by ATP requires the activation of both ERK1/2 and p38 MAPKs. Thus, ATP acts via P2Y(2)-purine receptors to recruit cPLA(2) by activating both ERK1/2 and p38 MAPKs and stimulates the release of PGE(2) from articular chondrocytes.