myo-Inositol reverses Li+-induced inhibition of phosphoinositide turnover and ornithine decarboxylase induction during early lymphocyte activation.

One of the earliest detectable responses by T lymphocytes in vitro to various mitogenic ligands is the rapid induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity (Scott et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 1985. 15: 783). This early activation is measurable within minutes after the addition of the mitogen. The T cell mitogen concanavalin A also induces rapid breakdown of phosphoinositides in T lymphocytes. The inositol phosphates formed are recycled and used in synthesis of new phosphoinositides. Li+ interrupts this cycle by inhibiting the enzyme inositol-1-phosphatase, which produces the inositol needed for phosphoinositide synthesis. Here we report that when human blood lymphocytes are kept in an inositol-deficient medium for 30 min in the presence of 1 mM Li+, the cells become unable to respond to mitogens by inositide breakdown and rapid induction of ODC activity. Addition of 1 mM myo-inositol restores the inducibility of these responses within a few minutes. These findings represent a novel aspect of the activation of resting lymphocytes and implies a new role for the inositol turnover during signal transduction.