[Diversity of phospholipases A2 and their functions]

Membrane phospholipids not only constitute structural membrane components, they also contain a wealth of biochemical information. They are the source of numerous lipid mediators (prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxane, paf, lysophosphatidic acid and free fatty acids). These lipids act as second messengers inside the cell to modulate enzyme (e.g. PKC and GAP), ion channels (e.g. Ca2+ and K+) or the activity of factors regulating gene expression either at the transcriptional level (e.g. on the TNF alpha gene) or at the post-transcriptional level (e.g. on the GLUT4 transporter). The synthesis of lipid mediators results from the stimulation of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activities. PLA2 cleaves membrane phospholipids to give rise to lysophospholipids and to free fatty acids from which second messengers are generated. More specifically, PLA2 provides the precursor for the eicosanoids, when the cleaved fatty acid is arachidonic acid, or for PAF, when the sn-1 position of the phospholipid is an alkyl ether linkage. Therefore, PLA2 is a key enzyme in the regulation of lipid mediators of inflammatory process. The purification and cloning of several PLA2s have demonstrated clear differences between secreted and intracellular PLA2. The secreted PLA2s are closely related proteins of low molecular weight (14 kDa) with calcium requirement in the mM range. They contain numerous bonds and retain the same amino-acids at the active site. In mammals, two types of secreted PLA2 have been identified: type I pancreatic PLA2 and type II inflammatory PLA2 which show 70% sequence homology. Recently, two others 14 kDa sPLA2 have been cloned which share also high homologies with type I and type II but contain respectively 6 and 8 disulpide bonds. In contrast, cellular PLA2s have higher molecular weights (40-110 kDa) and are either calcium independent or require microM amounts for activity. Cellular PLA2s preferentially act on sn-2-arachidonoyl phospholipids in vitro whereas sPLA2 do not display such selectivity in vitro. Both cellular and secreted PLA2s are involved in lipid mediator production. Cellular PLA2 can be activated by membrane receptors coupled to G proteins or by tyrosine kinase receptor, through the ras-raf1-MAP kinases network. Cellular PLA2s are thought to be involved in the initial production of lipid mediators after cell activation. Several lines of evidence suggest that secreted PLA2 is involved in the sustained production of lipid mediators in several cell types. These lines of evidence include the decrease in eicosanoid production by antibodies RNA of sPLA2. Furthermore, secreted PLA2s might trigger autocrine loops and proliferation responses through interaction with a specific receptor.