Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is activated by nerve growth factor and epidermal growth factor in PC12 cells.

The effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PtdIns 3-kinase) activity were assessed in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. Both NGF and EGF induced a rapid activation of PtdIns 3-kinase as assessed by a dramatic rise in growth factor-induced PtdIns 3-kinase activity found in antiphosphotyrosine immunoprecipitates. The intracellular levels of two of the lipid products of PtdIns 3-kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3) and phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4)P2), also rose dramatically, exhibiting time courses very similar to the appearance of PtdIns 3-kinase in immunoprecipitates. The activation of PtdIns 3-kinase is, therefore, a common event in the signal transduction processes elicited by growth factors stimulating distinct cellular end points in PC12 cells, namely the NGF-induced neuronal differentiation and EGF-stimulated mitogenesis. Thus the intracellular products of this enzyme may function in early biochemical events that are common components of the pathways controlling both differentiation and proliferation.