Diacylglycerol formation and DNA synthesis in endothelin-stimulated rat C6 glioma cells: the possible role of phosphatidylcholine breakdown.

Stimulation of C6 cells with endothelin-1 (ET) caused a biphasic sn-1,2-diacylglycerol (1,2-DG) generation, which occurred not only via phosphatidylinositol 4,5-P2 (PIP2) hydrolysis by specific phospholipase C action, but also through the breakdown of phosphatidylcholine (PC) induced by either PC phospholipase C or D. ET also stimulated DNA synthesis in serum-starved C6 cells. However, in the presence of 1-(5-isoquinolynylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, the [3H]thymidine incorporation was markedly inhibited, which was concurrent with the 1,2-DG formation: the second peak was reduced. These findings suggest that brain glial cells might be an important target for ET. In addition to other possible roles, ET may also mediate mitogenesis in the brain, presumably through a PKC-dependent activation of phospholipase C and/or D hydrolyzing PC.