Differential effects of various skin tumor-promoting agents on prostaglandin E2 release from primary cultures of mouse epidermal cells.

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release from primary cultures of mouse epidermal cells was markedly stimulated by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), mezerein and 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol but not by 4 alpha-phorbol-12,13-di-decanoate in low Ca2+ (50 microM) medium. TPA-evoked PGE2 release was inhibited by mepacrine, indomethacin and H-7 but not by HA1004. These findings suggest that TPA stimulates PGE2 release through activation of protein kinase C, phospholipase A2 and the cyclooxygenase pathway. Of the non-TPA type of tumor promoting agents, i.e. anthralin, chrysarobin, 7-bromomethylbenz[a]anthracene, benzoylperoxide, okadaic acid and palytoxin, only anthralin stimulated PGE2 release. Anthralin-evoked PGE2 release was not inhibited by H-7. In normal Ca2+ (1.8 mM) medium, PGE2 release increased markedly compared to the release in low Ca2+ medium. In normal Ca2+ medium, PGE2 release was stimulated by TPA, anthralin and okadaic acid but not by other tumor promoting agents. In mouse peritoneal macrophages, TPA, palytoxin and okadaic acid stimulated PGE2 release, but other tumor-promoting agents failed to stimulate it. These results suggest that skin tumor promoting agents are not necessarily effective stimulators of prostaglandin production either in macrophages or in epidermal cells, the target cells of skin tumor promotion.