Activation of protein kinase C by the lipid moieties of lipopolysaccharide

Protein kinase C (PKC) was partially purified from the RAW264.7 macrophage-like cell and characterized by its activation by phosphatidylserine (PS) in the presence of calcium and its insensitivity to cyclic nucleotides or calmodulin. This PKC can also be activated by the acidic lipid moieties of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The LPS lipids activate PKC in the absence of PS and, like PS, synergize with diacylglycerol (DAG). Intact RAW264.7 cells were prelabelled with 32Pi and treated with the well characterized PKC ligands, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or DAG. The phosphoproteins thereby induced were separated in 2-D gels and visualized by autoradiography. These phosphoproteins were used as standards to identify the PKC-associated phosphoproteins induced in these cells using other stimulators. The authors demonstrate that the LPS lipids as well as LPS itself induce the formation of phosphoproteins common to those induced by PMA or DAG. PMA, DAG, the LPS lipids, and LPS itself activate the RAW264.7 cell and stimulate the release of prostaglandin D2 at the same concentration that stimulate new protein phosphorylation. These results suggest that the activation of PKC is an early event in the activation of the RAW264.7 macrophage by LPS