Abstract
Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a versatile lipid mediator of inflammation in a variety of biologic systems. We have previously reported that one of the earliest events in the signal transduction pathway of PAF in a human B lymphoblastoid cell line was the induction of tyrosine kinase activity concomitant with the activation of phospholipase C (PLC). We now demonstrate the occurrence of multiple tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent events which follow the interaction of PAF with its receptor on B cells. Anti-phosphotyrosine immunoprecipitates from lysates of PAF-stimulated cells, when fractionated by SDS-PAGE and analyzed by Western blotting with anti-PLC-gamma 1, showed that maximal tyrosine phosphorylation of this enzyme occurred within 2 min of stimulation. This phenomenon was verified by immunoprecipitating with anti-PLC-gamma 1 and subsequently probing with anti-phosphotyrosine. Immunoprecipitation of the tyrosine kinases, Fyn and Lyn, from PAF-stimulated cells, and use of these immunoprecipitates in kinase assays established that the activation of both kinases also occurred within the first 2 min of stimulation with phosphorylation occurring on their tyrosine residues. Additionally, we also provide evidence for the tyrosine phosphorylation of the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PtdIns 3-kinase) and activation of this kinase by PAF in a dose-dependent manner, maximal activation occurring within 10 min post-stimulation. We have thus demonstrated that the activation of tyrosine kinases is an important proximate step in PAF-mediated signal transduction in B cells, leading to tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of PLC-gamma 1, Fyn and Lyn kinases, and PtdIns 3-kinase.