The effect of orthovanadate on phosphoinositide metabolism in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts

Orthovanadate is an agent known to stimulate cell growth and mimic insulin action. The effects of this compound on phosphoinositides in NIH 3T3 cells were examined. Both 100 and 1000 microM orthovanadate were found to increase the cellular content of inositol phosphate secondary to the activation of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PtdIns-PLC). The time course, dependence on orthovanadate concentration, and sensitivity to the isoflavone genistein were similar for orthovanadate-induced accumulation of inositol phosphate and protein tyrosine phosphate, indicating that there is a correlation between cellular protein tyrosine phosphate levels and PtdIns-PLC activity. Increased phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PtdInsP) content also occurred when cells were incubated with orthovanadate and appeared to result from the activation of PtdIns kinase. This effect was not correlated with cellular protein tyrosine phosphate content. Hence, orthovanadate is shown to affect phosphoinositide metabolism at a minimum of two sites by both tyrosine phosphate-dependent and -independent mechanisms.