Regulatory functions of protein kinase C isoenzymes in purinoceptor signalling in mesangial cells.

1. The expression and functional roles of protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzymes in purinoceptor signalling have been examined in rat renal mesangial cells. 2. It is observed that rat mesangial cells express four PKC isoenzymes, PKC-alpha, -delta, -epsilon and zeta, as determined by Western blot analysis. No PKC-beta, -gamma, -eta, -theta, or -mu isoforms were detected. 3. By using specific PKC inhibitors and down-regulation experiments we provide evidence that PKC alpha acts as a negative feedback regulator of ATP- and UTP-stimulated phosphoinositide turnover, whereas PKC epsilon triggers arachidonic acid release and subsequent prostaglandin synthesis and stimulates a phosphatidylcholine-hydrolysing phospholipase D. Moreover, PKC delta may activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade and thus promote mesangial cell proliferation in response to extracellular ATP and UTP. 4. In summary our data identify mesangial cells in culture as an excellently characterized cell culture system with well-defined functions of PKC isoenzymes. Functional identification of PKC isoenzymes involved in specific cell responses is one of the most promising steps towards understanding of molecular mechanisms of cell regulation and identifies new targets for drug development.