Guanine nucleotides and fluoride enhance carbachol-mediated arachidonic acid release from phosphatidylinositol. Evidence for involvement of GTP-binding protein in phospholipase A2 activation.

Release of arachidonic acid (AA) from 1-stearoyl-2-[14C]arachidonyl-glycerophosphoinositol (PI) by plasma membrane-bound enzyme(s) is a calcium-dependent reaction and is markedly activated at 4 x 10(-4) M CaCl2. In the presence of Ca2+, the agonist of the cholinergic receptor (carbachol) enhances, in a dose-related manner, AA release. Moreover, GTP and its non-hydrolysable analogs GTP gamma S and GppNHp and also NaF additionally increase the carbachol-mediated liberation of AA from PI. On the contrary, in the absence of Ca2+ carbachol and GTP gamma S have no stimulatory effect on AA release. Guanosine-5'-O-2-thiodiphosphate GDP gamma S, which inhibits the function of GTP-binding proteins, also suppresses carbachol-mediated activation of AA release from PI. The stimulatory effect of carbachol and guanine nucleotides was observed exclusively in the brain plasma membrane (there was no effect on mitochondria, microsome and cytosolic enzymes). Quinacrine, the inhibitor of phospholipase A2, completely inhibits carbachol- and guanine nucleotide-activated AA release and greatly (by about 60-70%) decreases Ca(2+)-dependent AA liberation from phosphatidylinositol. These results indicate that GTP-binding protein(s) are involved in the regulation of carbachol-mediated AA release. The main pool of this acid is liberated from phosphatidylinositol by phospholipase A2 and only a small pool of AA may be released indirectly as the result of PI hydrolysis by sequential action of phospholipase C and diacylglycerol lipase.