Inhibitors of endocytosis perturb phospholipid metabolism in rabbit neutrophils and other cells.

Dansylcadaverine, amantadine, and rimantadine, which have been shown to inhibit the endocytosis of alpha 2-macroglobulin, epidermal growth factor, and vesicular stomatitis virus [Schlegel, R., Dickson, R. B., Willingham, M. C. & Pastan, I. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79, 2291-2295], were found to decrease phosphatidylcholine synthesis, chemotaxis, and internalization of a formylated peptide but to stimulate the incorporation of inositol into phosphatidylinositol in rabbit neutrophils. Dansylcadaverine decreased phosphatidylcholine synthesis by both the CDP-choline and transmethylation pathways and also inhibited the synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine by the CDP-ethanolamine pathway. Dansylcadaverine had no effect on the phosphocholine, CDP-choline, or S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine pools but increased 2-fold the S-adenosyl-L-methionine pool. These results suggest that dansylcadaverine in some manner inhibited the condensation of CDP-choline with diacylglycerol to form phosphatidylcholine. Dansylcadaverine also inhibited phosphatidylcholine synthesis in human neutrophils, human fibroblasts, chicken embryo fibroblasts, rat hepatocytes, osteosarcoma cells, and neuroblastoma cells. It did not stimulate phosphatidylinositol synthesis in chicken embryo fibroblasts.