Stimulation of phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis in type II alveolar epithelial cells

The effects of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA) or ATP on phosphatidylcholine (PC) hydrolysis were investigated in cultured type II pneumocytes prelabeled with [3H]choline or 1-O-[3H]octadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine ([3H]lyso-PAF). In cells prelabeled with [3H]choline, TPA or ATP stimulated an increase in [3H]choline, [3H]phosphocholine, and [3H]glycerophosphocholine. The formation of these choline metabolites was associated with a concomitant loss of [3H]PC but not from disaturated PC or phosphatidylinositol. In cells prelabeled with [3H]lyso-PAF, the formation of [3H]phosphatidic acid (PA) and then [3H]1,2-DG was stimulated by TPA or ATP and was associated with a loss of 3H from PC but not from disaturated PC or phosphatidylinositol. There was a concentration-dependent formation of [3H]1,2-DG and [3H]PA in response to ATP. Downregulation of protein kinase C with TPA abolished the stimulation of PC hydrolysis. In addition to the generation of metabolites indicative of phospholipase C and/or D activity, [3H]lyso-PC, a product of phospholipase A2, was also generated in response to TPA. These findings suggest an important role for PC breakdown in signal transduction in type II pneumocytes.