Multiple cytokines activate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in hemopoietic cells. Association of the enzyme with various tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins.

Activation of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase is a common sequel to tyrosine kinase activation and appears to be essential for tyrosine kinases to induce proliferation. Since multiple hemopoietic growth factors activate tyrosine kinases, we investigated whether these growth factors activate PI 3-kinase. We show that interleukin-3 (IL-3), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-5 (IL-5), granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and steel factor (SLF) all activate PI 3-kinase. These cytokines increased the amount of PI 3-kinase activity that could be immunoprecipitated with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies from the MC-9 mast cell line or from the hemopoietic progenitor cell line FDC-P1. Increases in this assay frequently correlate with PI 3-kinase activation in vivo. To determine directly whether these factors activate PI 3-kinase in vivo, we measured the levels of 3-phosphorylated inositol phospholipids in intact 32P-labeled MC-9 cells. IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, GM-CSF, and SLF all caused increased synthesis of the PI 3-kinase products phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate with a relative potency of SLF >> IL-3 > IL-5, GM-CSF > IL-4. In contrast, IL-4 caused the largest increase in the in vitro anti-phosphotyrosine immune complex PI 3-kinase assay. Thus, the in vitro assay does not accurately reflect in vivo activation of PI 3-kinase. Cytokine treatment did not stimulate tyrosine phosphorylation of either the 85-kDa regulatory subunit or the 110-kDa catalytic subunit of PI 3-kinase and is therefore not required for activation of PI 3-kinase by these factors. Cytokine treatment did induce PI 3-kinase to associate with other tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in a cytokine-specific manner. PI 3-kinase associated with c-kit after SLF stimulation, a 170-kDa protein after IL-4 stimulation, and a 70-kDa protein after treatment with IL-3 or GM-CSF. Thus, multiple hemopoietic growth factors that act through different types of receptors activate PI 3-kinase in vivo and induce factor-specific interactions of PI 3-kinase with other tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins.