PAF-induced activation of polyphosphoinositide-hydrolyzing phospholipase C in cerebral cortex

The action of platelet-activating factor (PAF) on phosphoinositide hydrolysis was studied in rat brain slices. PAF produced a significant increase of 32P incorporation into phosphoinositides and phosphatidic acid (PA), in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Concomitantly, an increase of inositol phosphates and diacylglycerol (DAG) production was observed. Both inositol bisphosphate (IP2) and inositol trisphosphate (IP3) were detected as early as 5 s and they returned immediately to basal levels; concomitantly, formation of inositol monophosphate (IP) was detected. These findings demonstrated that PAF causes a rapid hydrolysis of polyphosphoinositides in cerebral cortex by a phospholipase C-dependent mechanism followed by subsequent resynthesis.