Elevated phosphocholine concentration in ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells arises from increased choline kinase activity, not from phosphatidylcholine breakdown.

The cellular concentration of phosphocholine has been reported to be significantly elevated in Ha-ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells, but not in v-sis transformants (J. C. Lacal, J. Moscat, and S. A. Aaronson, Nature [London] 330:269-271, 1987). It was suggested that the phosphocholine arises from constitutive hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine by phospholipase C, an activity that would also account for the elevated 1,2-diacylglycerol found in ras-transformed cells. I have demonstrated that the increased phosphocholine arises through the induction of choline kinase activity. No increased breakdown of phosphatidylcholine was observed in ras-transformed cells. The elevation in diacylglycerol is therefore unlikely to be a consequence of phosphatidylinositol or phosphatidylcholine turnover.