ras-transformed cells: altered levels of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate and catabolites.

Steady-state cellular levels of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG), and inositol phosphates have been measured in two different fibroblast cell lines (NIH 3T3 and NRK cells) before and after transformation with three different ras genes. At high cell density the ratio of DAG to PIP2 was 2.5- to 3-fold higher in the ras-transformed cells than in their untransformed counterparts. The sum of the water-soluble breakdown products of the polyphosphoinositides, inositol-1,4-bisphosphate and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate, was also elevated in ras-transformed NRK cells compared with nontransformed NRK cells. These findings suggest that the ras (p21) protein may act by affecting these levels, possibly as a regulatory element in the PIP2 breakdown pathway.