Muscarinic receptor-mediated induction of actin-driven lamellar protrusions in neuroblastoma cell somata and growth cones. Involvement of protein kinase C.

In SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells, addition of acetylcholine or carbachol rapidly induces a transient protrusion of lamellipodia. The protrusions appear after a delay of 30 sec and persist for a period of about 5 min at the margins of cell somata and at the distal parts of cell processes. They are caused by a strikingly increased, cytochalasin B-sensitive assembly of actin at the cell periphery. They often detach from the substrate, retracting and protruding again. In retinoic acid-induced neuronally differentiated cells, this initialized protrusive activity is restricted to growth cones. d-Tubocurarine does not influence, but atropine totally inhibits the cholinergic induction of the actin-driven protrusions, suggesting that a muscarinic receptor-mediated activation of the phosphoinositol signaling pathway is involved. Depolarization by increase of the potassium concentration and ionophore-mediated Ca(2+)-influx are ineffective to trigger the protrusive and ruffling activity. An identical cytochalasin B-sensitive actin-driven response is caused by treating of the cells with the protein kinase C (PKC) activator 12-myristate-13-acetate. In this case, however, lamellar protrusions are formed after a delay of at least 3 min and are maintained for several days. Incubating the cells with the protein kinase C inhibitor bisindolylmaleide or staurosporine inhibits both the muscarinic receptor-mediated and phorbolester-mediated actin-driven response, suggesting that activated PKC plays a crucial role.