Modulation of luteinizing hormone-stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation by phorbol esters in bovine luteal cells

The present studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of protein kinase C activators on the inositol phospholipid-phospholipase C second messenger system in isolated bovine luteal cells. This report describes the effects of phorbol esters on inositol phosphate accumulation in LH- and prostaglandin F_2α (PGF_2α)-stimulated bovine luteal cells. Corpora lutea of early pregnancy were dispersed with collagenase and luteal cells were prelabeled for 3 h with [³H]inositol. Inositol phosphates produced in response to LH or PGF_2α were analyzed by ion exchange column chromatography. The tumor promoter and protein kinase C activator 12-O-tetradecanolyphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) had no effect on basal levels of inositol phosphates but inhibited LH-stimulated accumulation of inositol mono-, bis-, and trisphosphates by 72%, 68%, and 65%, respectively. TPA reduced the response to maximally effective concentrations of LH and tripled the concentrations of LH required to evoke half-maximal accumulation of inositol mono-, bis-, trisphosphates. The inhibitory effects of TPA were rapid (5 min) whether added before or after treatment with LH. Treatment with TPA also reduced (58%) the initial phase of intracellular calcium mobilization in LH-treated cells. The inhibitory effects of TPA were not associated with acute reductions in [³H]inositol incorporation, [³H]inositol phospholipid levels, cAMP levels, or progesterone accumulation in control or LH-stimulated luteal cells. The effects of phorbol esters were concentration dependent and specific for active tumor promoters with 10-50 nM TPA producing maximal inhibitory effects. A synthetic diacylglycerol, 1-oleyl-2-acetylglycerol, mimicked the inhibitory effects of TPA. In contrast, pretreatment with a physiological activator of protein kinase C, PGF_2α, had no effect on LH-stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation. The inhibitory effects of TPA could not be explained by a generalized inhibition of phospholipase C or G-proteins since the accumulation of inositol phosphates in PGF_2α- and NaF-treated cells was not inhibited by TPA. These results demonstrate that tumor promoting phorbol esters modulate the inositol phospholipid-phospholipase C transmembrane signaling system in LH-stimulated bovine luteal cells. The results suggest that phorbol esters may alter the coupling of the LH-receptor complex to phospholipase C. These findings implicate protein kinase C in the regulation of transmembrane signaling in the bovine corpus luteum.