G protein-coupled receptors can potentially activate phospholipase D (PLD) by a number of routes. We show here that the native M 3 muscarinic receptor in 1321N1 cells and an epitope-tagged M 3 receptor expressed in COS7 cells substantially utilize an ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF)-dependent route of PLD activation. This pathway is activated at the plasma membrane but appears to be largely independent of G q/11 , phospholipase C, Ca 2؉ , protein kinase C, tyrosine kinases, and phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase. We report instead that it involves physical association of ARF with the M 3 receptor as demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation and by in vitro interaction with a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein of the receptor's third intracellular loop domain. Experiments with mutant constructs of ARF1/6 and PLD1/2 indicate that the M 3 receptor displays a major ARF1-dependent route of PLD1 activation with an additional ARF6-dependent pathway to PLD1 or PLD2. Examples of other G protein-coupled receptors assessed in comparison display alternative pathways of protein kinase C-or ARF6-dependent activation of PLD2.
Many G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)1 can activate phospholipase D (PLD), which catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidic acid and choline. Both phosphatidates and diacylglycerols (formed by phosphatidate hydrolysis) may act as intracellular messengers. PLD has been implicated as a key regulator of vesicular trafficking, cytoskeletal organization, exocytosis, endocytosis, and further signaling pathways (1-4). Activation of PLD can be brought about by a variety of signaling events (5-8), many of which could potentially contribute to the stimulation of PLD activity by GPCRs. These include the activation of protein kinase C (PKC), proteintyrosine kinases, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), small G proteins of the ARF and Rho families, and possibly the elevation of intracellular Ca 2ϩ levels. This study addresses the mechanism of PLD activation by the M 3 muscarinic receptor expressed endogenously in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells and heterologously in COS7 cells. The M 3 receptor is a member of the Group I, rhodopsin-related GPCR family that is expressed in the nervous system and peripheral tissues. The best established signaling pathway from the M 3 receptor is the pertussis toxin-insensitive activation of phospholipase C (PLC) via the heterotrimeric G protein G q/11 , although PLD is also strongly activated. In various cell types, PKC, protein-tyrosine kinases, ARF, and Rho have each been specifically implicated in M 3 receptor-mediated PLD activation (6, 9 -12). The data here emphasize the importance of a pathway to PLD that involves direct association between ARF and the M 3 receptor (12).ARF1 and ARF6 are representative of the main classes of cellular ARFs (Classes I and III) and have distinct subcellular distributions in many cell types. In resting cells, ARF1 is largely cytosolic or Golgi-associated, whereas ARF6 is often localized to the plasma membrane (13-17). Nevert...