Activation of a keratinocyte phospholipase A2 by bradykinin and 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Evidence for a receptor-GTP-binding protein versus a protein-kinase-C mediated mechanism.

The release of arachidonic acid from cellular phospholipids and its subsequent conversion to eicosanoids is the common early response of skin keratinocytes to a wide variety of exogenous or endogenous agonists including irritant skin mitogens such as the phorbol ester, 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or the inflammatory peptide bradykinin. In mouse keratinocytes labeled with [14C]arachidonic acid, both PMA and bradykinin induced the release of the fatty acid in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Three lines of evidence indicate phospholipase A2 activity to be involved in arachidonic acid release: (a) its inhibition by mepacrine, (b) the concomitant generation of lysophosphatidylcholine from [3H]choline-labeled cells and (c) an increase in arachidonic acid release from 14C-labeled phosphatidylcholine in particulate fractions from PMA-treated and bradykinin-treated keratinocytes. Inhibition or down regulation of protein kinase C (PKC) led to a suppression of PMA-induced but not bradykinin-induced arachidonic acid release, indicating a critical involvement of this kinase in phorbol-ester-induced activation of epidermal phospholipase A2 activity. Bradykinin-induced activation of phospholipase A2 was however, shown to be mediated by specific B2 receptors coupled to GTP-binding proteins (G protein). In support of this mechanism it was demonstrated that the bradykinin-induced phospholipase A2 activity was increased in the presence of non-hydrolysable GTP but decreased upon addition of non-hydrolysable GDP analogues. Moreover, cholera toxin stimulated both basal and bradykinin-induced phospholipase A2 activity in a cAMP-independent manner, whereas pertussis toxin was found to be inactive in this respect. The data suggest that epidermal phospholipase A2 activity can be stimulated by bradykinin via a B2 receptor-G-protein-dependent pathway, which is independent of PKC and a PKC-dependent pathway which is activated by phorbol esters such as PMA.