Subcellular distribution of protein kinase C (pKC) in erythrocytes and concentration of D-myo-inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) in platelets and monocytes of force-fed zinc-deficient rats.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether alimentary zinc (Zn) deficiency affects the activities of the Zn metalloenzymes protein kinase C (pKC) and the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PLC) in force-fed Zn-deficient rats. The in vivo activity of pKC was determined by measuring the subcellular distribution of the enzyme between the cytosolic and the particulate fraction of erythrocytes, whereas the activity of PLC was measured indirectly through the concentration of its metabolite inositol-1,4, 5-trisphosphate (IP3) in platelets and monocytes. For this purpose, 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats with an average live mass of 126 g were divided into 2 groups of 12 animals each. The Zn-deficient and the control rats received a semisynthetic casein diet with a Zn content of 1.2 and 24.1 ppm, respectively. All animals were fed the same amount of the diet (10.8 g dry matter [DM]/d and rat) four times daily by gastric tube. After 12 d, the depleted rats were in a state of severe Zn deficiency, as demonstrated by a 70% lower Zn concentration and a 66% reduction in the serum activity of alkaline phosphatase. The radio-immunologically determined concentration of IP3 was reduced by a significant 55% in the platelets of the Zn-deficient rats (8.4 pmol IP3/ 5 x 10(8)) as compared with the control rats (18.8 pmol IP3/5 x 10(8)), whereas the IP3 concentration in the monocytes was not affected by the alimentary Zn supply (1.4 vs 1.2 pmol IP3/10(6)), nor was there any difference between the Zn-deficient and the control rats with regard to the radioenzymatically determined specific activity of pKC, either in the cytosolic fraction (32.7 vs 32.5 pmol P/min/mg protein) or in the particulate fraction (38.1 vs 36.5 pmol P/min/mg protein) of the erythrocytes.