Mechanism of phorbol ester inhibition of histamine-induced IP3 formation in cultured airway smooth muscle

R. K. Murray, C. F. Bennett, S. J. Fluharty and M. I. Kotlikoff Department of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104. Cytosolic calcium is a key determinant of the contractile state of airway smooth muscle (ASM). To investigate the mechanisms by which histamine affects cytosolic calcium, we measured changes in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) following the addition of histamine to cultured canine ASM cells. The effect of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on IP3 formation was investigated under conditions previously shown to abolish histamine-induced calcium release. In both intact cells and ASM membranes, histamine produced a significant increase in IP3 formation, which was inhibited by PMA. The site of this blockade was investigated by examining the effect of PMA on guanine nucleotide-stimulated IP3 formation and on phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) activity in ASM membranes. Guanine nucleotide-stimulated IP3 formation was inhibited by PMA pretreatment. Membrane-associated PI-PLC activity was also decreased, an effect that was not due simply to a shift in the calcium sensitivity of the enzyme. We conclude that in cultured canine ASM cells, PMA blocks histamine-induced IP3 formation and that this inhibition is caused, in part, by a postreceptor site of action of protein kinase C, possibly via a direct effect on PI-PLC.