Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is an important mediator of cell loss following diverse pathophysiological challenges, but the manner in which PAF transduces death is not clear. Both PAF receptor-dependent and -independent pathways are implicated. In this study, we show that extracellular PAF can be internalized through PAF receptor-independent mechanisms and can initiate caspase-3-dependent apoptosis when cytosolic concentrations are elevated by ϳ15 pM/cell for 60 min. Reducing cytosolic PAF to less than 10 pM/cell terminates apoptotic signaling. By pharmacological inhibition of PAF acetylhydrolase I and II (PAF-AH) activity and down-regulation of PAF-AH I catalytic subunits by RNA interference, we show that the PAF receptor-independent death pathway is regulated by PAF-AH I and, to a lesser extent, by PAF-AH II. Moreover, the anti-apoptotic actions of PAF-AH I are subunit-specific. PAF-AH I ␣ 1 regulates intracellular PAF concentrations under normal physiological conditions, but expression is not sufficient to reduce an acute rise in intracellular PAF levels. PAF-AH I ␣ 2 expression is induced when cells are deprived of serum or exposed to apoptogenic PAF concentrations limiting the duration of pathological cytosolic PAF accumulation. To block PAF receptor-independent death pathway, we screened a panel of PAF antagonists (CV-3988, CV-6209, BN 52021, and FR 49175). BN 52021 and FR 49175 accelerated PAF hydrolysis and inhibited PAF-mediated caspase 3 activation. Both antagonists act indirectly to promote PAF-AH I ␣ 2 homodimer activity by reducing PAF-AH I ␣ 1 expression. These findings identify PAF-AH I ␣ 2 as a potent antiapoptotic protein and describe a new means of pharmacologically targeting PAF-AH I to inhibit PAF-mediated cell death.Platelet-activating factor (PAF, 1 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) is a key mediator of neuronal death in ischemia, encephalitis, epileptic seizure, meningitis, and human immunodeficiency virus-1 dementia in vivo and participates in etoposide-, prion-, and ␤-amyloid-induced cell death in vitro (1-7). In the periphery, pathological increases in PAF concentrations underlie cytotoxicity in chronic inflammatory dermatoses and lethality in systemic anaphylaxis (8, 9). Although the majority of PAF effects are understood to be transduced by its G-protein-coupled receptor (PAFR) (10), PAFR signaling has been shown to be both pro-and anti-apoptotic. Ectopic PAFR expression exacerbates cell death induced by etoposide and mitomycin C but protects cells from tumor necrosis factor ␣, TRAIL, and extracellular PAF (6,7,11,12). These opposing effects likely depend upon the relative ratio of NF-B-dependent pro-and anti-apoptotic gene products elicited in different cell types in response to the combination of an external apoptotic inducer and PAF (6).Accumulating evidence points to additional PAF signaling pathways transduced independently of PAFR (11, 13-17). PAFR-negative cells undergo apoptosis when extracellular PAF concentrations reach 100 nM and necrosis when PAF levels e...

The pro-inflammatory lipid mediator platelet activating factor (PAF: 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) accumulates in ischemia, epilepsy, and human immunodeficiency virus-1-associated dementia and is implicated in neuronal loss. The present study was undertaken to establish a role for its G-protein coupled receptor in regulating neurotoxicity. PC12 cells do not express PAF receptor mRNA as demonstrated by northern analysis and RT-PCR. In the absence of the G-protein coupled receptor, PAF (0.1)1 lM) triggered chromatin condensation, DNA strand breaks, oligonucleosomal fragmentation, and nuclear disintegration characteristic of apoptosis. Lyso-PAF (0.001-1 lM), the immediate metabolite of PAF, did not elicit apoptotic death. Concentrations of PAF or lyso-PAF that exceeded critical micelle concentration had physicochemical effects on plasma membrane resulting in necrosis. Apoptosis but not necrosis was inhibited by the PAF antagonist BN52021 (1-100 lM) but not CV3988 (0.2-20 lM). Ectopic PAF receptor expression protected PC12 transfectants from ligand-induced apoptosis. PAF receptor-mediated protection was inhibited by CV3988 (1 lM). These data provide empirical evidence that: (i) PAF can initiate apoptosis independently of its G-protein coupled receptor; (ii) PAF signaling initiated by its G-protein coupled receptor is cytoprotective to PC12 cells; (iii) the pro-and anti-apoptotic effects of PAF on PC12 cells can be pharmacologically distinguished using two different PAF antagonists.