Effects of phorbol esters, diglyceride, and cholinergic agonists on the subcellular distribution of protein kinase C in intact or digitonin-permeabilized adrenal chromaffin cells.

Phorbol esters which activate protein kinase C increased the percentage of membrane-bound protein kinase C activity in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells from less than 10 to 20-50% within 30 min. Permeabilization of chromaffin cells with digitonin in the absence of Ca2+ and phorbol esters caused virtually 100% of the protein kinase C activity to leave the cells within 1 h, which is consistent with protein kinase C being soluble and cytosolic. However, if cells were incubated for 15-30 min with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) prior to permeabilization, 50-60% of the protein kinase C activity exited from the cells within 1 h of permeabilization. In cells not incubated with phorbol ester, permeabilization in the presence of 1-10 microM Ca2+ also decreased the rate at which protein kinase C exited from the cells. The slower release of protein kinase C caused by prior incubation of the cells with TPA or because of the presence of micromolar Ca2+ in permeabilized cells was associated with increased membrane-bound protein kinase C. The effects of TPA and permeabilization in the presence of micromolar Ca2+ were approximately additive. Active phorbol esters had different abilities to cause retention of protein kinase C in digitonin-treated cells. Dioctanoylglycerol, which activates protein kinase C in vitro and enhanced Ca2+-dependent secretion from permeabilized chromaffin cells similarly to TPA, also increased membrane-bound protein kinase C in intact cells, but had no effect on the retention of protein kinase C in permeabilized cells in the presence or absence of Ca2+. The different abilities of protein kinase C activators to cause retention of protein kinase C in subsequently permeabilized cells suggest differences in the reversibility of the binding. The mixed nicotinic-muscarinic agonist carbachol and the nicotinic agonist 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium, but not the muscarinic agonist muscarine, caused 3-10% of the total protein kinase C activity to become membrane-bound within 3 min in intact chromaffin cells. Thus, nicotinic stimulation of chromaffin cells may rapidly activate protein kinase C.