Propranolol, a phosphatidate phosphohydrolase inhibitor, also inhibits protein kinase C

Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist, also inhibits phosphatidate phosphohydrolase, the enzyme that converts phosphatidic acid into diacylglycerol. This latter effect has prompted recent use of propranolol in studies examining the importance of diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid in cellular signalling events. Here, we show that propranolol is also an inhibitor of protein kinase C. At concentrations greater than or equal to 20 microM, propranolol reduced [3H]phorbol dibutyrate binding (IC50 = 200 microM) and phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated superoxide anion release (IC50 = 130 microM) in human neutrophils. Scatchard analysis showed that propranolol lowers the number of phorbol diester binding sites without significantly affecting their affinity. In vitro kinetic analysis, performed in a mixed micellar assay with protein kinase C purified from human neutrophils, suggested a competitive inhibition of propranolol with the cofactor phosphatidylserine. Complex kinetic patterns were observed with respect to diacylglycerol and ATP, approximating competitive and noncompetitive inhibition, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that the drug interacts at the level of the regulatory domain of the enzyme. Fifty % inhibition occurred at approximately 150 microM propranolol. Similar levels of inhibition were obtained using exogenous (histone) and endogenous (p47-phox, a NADPH oxidase component) substrates. Protein kinase C-alpha and protein kinase C-beta, two protein kinase C isozymes present in human neutrophils, were inhibited by propranolol in a comparable manner. In the range of concentrations tested (30-1000 microM), neither cAMP-dependent protein kinase nor neutrophil protein tyrosine kinases were affected. The racemic form of propranolol and the (+) and the (-) stereoisomers were equally active, and other beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists (pindolol) and agonists (isoproterenol) were inactive. This suggests that the inhibitory action of propranolol on protein kinase C is related to the amphipathic nature of the drug rather than to its beta-adrenergic receptor blocking ability. Analogs of propranolol were synthesized and found to be more potent protein kinase C inhibitors, with IC50 values in the 10-20 microM range. We conclude that the ability of propranolol to inhibit both protein kinase C and PA phosphohydrolase complicates interpretation of results when this drug is used in signal transduction studies. In addition, propranolol may be a useful prototype for the synthesis of new protein kinase C inhibitors.