Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate kinase by heparin. A possible mechanism for the antiproliferative effects of heparin.

Heparin and related glycosaminoglycans are important modulators of vascular smooth muscle cell growth, and may be involved in pathological processes such as atherosclerosis. Since polyphosphoinositide metabolism is a major mechanism for regulating cellular activities, including proliferation, the effects of glycosaminoglycans and polyanionic compounds on the activities of phosphoinositide kinases were characterized. Heparin and heparan sulphate caused dose-dependent inhibitions of rat brain cytosolic phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PIP) kinase activity, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of approx. 0.5 and 5 microM respectively. PIP kinase was also inhibited by several dextran sulphates, but was not sensitive to inhibition by keratin sulphate, chondroitin sulphate or hyaluronic acid. Polynucleotides and acidic polypeptides were only weakly inhibitory. Heparin did not alter either the PIP- or the Mg(2+)-dependence of PIP kinase. Addition of heparin to brain membranes suppressed PIP kinase activity without affecting phosphatidylinositol (PI) kinase activity. Heparin interfered with the ability of a GTP analogue to stimulate PIP kinase activity in these membranes, suggesting that it uncouples the kinase from an activating guanine-nucleotide-binding protein. In cultured A-10 vascular smooth muscle cells, heparin caused dose- and time-dependent inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. Similar treatments with heparin decreased cellular levels of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) without changing PI and PIP levels. Therefore heparin-mediated inhibition of PIP kinase appears to lead to decreases in PIP2 levels which may attenuate cellular proliferation.