Although adenosine diphosphate (ADP), per se, is a weak platelet agonist, its role as a crucial cofactor in human blood platelet functions has now been clearly demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. The molecular basis of the ADP-induced platelet activation is starting to be understood since the discovery that 2 separate P2 purinergic receptors may be involved simultaneously in the activation process. However, little is known about how ADP plays its role as a cofactor in platelet activation and which signaling pathway initiated by a specific agonist can be modulated by the released ADP. To investigate these points, we took advantage of a model of platelet activation through the thrombin receptor PAR1 in which both ADP scavengers and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) inhibitors have been shown to transform the classical irreversible aggregation into a reversible one. We have observed that, among the different PI 3-kinase products, the accumulation of phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4)P2] was dramatically and specifically attenuated when ADP was removed by apyrase treatment. A comparison between the effects of PI 3-kinase inhibitors and apyrase strongly suggest that the late, ADP-dependent, PtdIns(3,4)P2accumulation is necessary for PAR1-induced irreversible aggregation. Using selective antagonists, we found that the effect of ADP was due to the ADP receptor coupled to inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. Finally, we found that both ADP and PI 3-kinase play an important role in PAR1-dependent reorganization of the cytoskeleton through a control of myosin heavy chain translocation and the stable association of signaling complexes with the actin cytoskeleton.

No abstract

A cultured myocardial cell model was used to examine the role ofprotein kinase C-dependent pathways in the transcriptional activation of two cardiac muscle genes [myosin light chain 2 (MLC-2) and atrial natriuretic factor (ANF)] during a-adrenergic receptor-mediated hypertrophy. Phorbol ester (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate) and the a-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine both activate protein kinase C (PKC) and induce 4-to 5-fold increases in the expression of MLC-2 and ANF promoter/luciferase reporter genes with little effect on Rous sarcoma virus/luciferase or minimal prolactin promoter/luciferase genes. To further assess the role of PKC in cardiac gene regulation, PKC expression vectors encoding constitutively activated PKC-a or PKC-fi, or a catalytically inactive PKC, were transiently cotransfected with the cardiac promoter/luciferase constructs. Cotransfection of either activated PKC-a or PKC-fi cDNA induces the expression of MLC-2 and ANF promoter/luciferase genes and of a reporter gene responsive to the transcription factor AP-1. The Rous sarcoma virus/luciferase and minimal prolactin promoter/ luciferase genes are not concomitantly induced by cotransfectin with the PKC genes, indicating specificity of the transcriptional effect. The finding that activated PKC increases cardiac gene transcription suggests that activation of this enzyme may be a proximal signal for coregulation of two cardiac genes, MLC-2 and ANF, during the course of myocardial cell hypertrophy.

Blood platelets contain phospholipase D (PLD) that is rapidly activated following platelet stimulation. It is currently unclear, however, where PLD fits into the signalling cascade that leads to aggregation and secretion. Therefore we investigated the mechanism of activation of PLD in human platelets, using the formation of the PLD-specific product phosphatidylethanol as a measure of PLD activity. PLD was activated by a number of platelet agonists that also cause the activation of protein kinase C, including thrombin, collagen, the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 and the thromboxane A2-mimetic U46619. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a direct activator of protein kinase C, also increased PLD activity. A selective inhibitor of protein kinase C, Ro-31-8220, totally blocked the stimulation of PLD by thrombin or PMA under conditions in which it also inhibited phosphorylation of pleckstrin, the major protein kinase C substrate in platelets. Ro-31-8220 additionally inhibited A23187-stimulated PLD activity, indicating that Ca2+ activation of PLD also occurs via a protein kinase C-dependent pathway. In the presence of the fibrinogen antagonist peptide RGDS, which inhibits fibrinogen binding to integrin alpha IIb beta 3 and allows little or no aggregation to occur, thrombin- and PMA-stimulated PLD activity was still observed, indicating that PLD activation is not simply a consequence of platelet aggregation. Furthermore, these agonists were able to stimulate PLD in platelets from a Glanzmann's thrombasthenia type I patient lacking the integrin alpha IIb beta 3 complex, which indicates that activation of PLD is also independent of the recruitment of integrin alpha IIb beta 3. Taken together, our results show that PLD is activated by a pathway involving protein kinase C, and suggest that PLD might be involved in signal transduction events occurring upstream of integrin alpha IIb beta 3 activation and fibrinogen binding, which are prerequisites for full platelet aggregation.

Although adenosine diphosphate (ADP), per se, is a weak platelet agonist, its role as a crucial cofactor in human blood platelet functions has now been clearly demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. The molecular basis of the ADP-induced platelet activation is starting to be understood since the discovery that 2 separate P2 purinergic receptors may be involved simultaneously in the activation process. However, little is known about how ADP plays its role as a cofactor in platelet activation and which signaling pathway initiated by a specific agonist can be modulated by the released ADP. To investigate these points, we took advantage of a model of platelet activation through the thrombin receptor PAR1 in which both ADP scavengers and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) inhibitors have been shown to transform the classical irreversible aggregation into a reversible one. We have observed that, among the different PI 3-kinase products, the accumulation of phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4)P2] was dramatically and specifically attenuated when ADP was removed by apyrase treatment. A comparison between the effects of PI 3-kinase inhibitors and apyrase strongly suggest that the late, ADP-dependent, PtdIns(3,4)P2accumulation is necessary for PAR1-induced irreversible aggregation. Using selective antagonists, we found that the effect of ADP was due to the ADP receptor coupled to inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. Finally, we found that both ADP and PI 3-kinase play an important role in PAR1-dependent reorganization of the cytoskeleton through a control of myosin heavy chain translocation and the stable association of signaling complexes with the actin cytoskeleton.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract