Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 7, 4076-4083, Copyright © 1987 by Society for Neuroscience
Intracellular regulators of neuronal sprouting: II. Phosphorylation reactions in isolated growth cones
C Hyman and KH Pfenninger
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032.
Mechanisms potentially involved in the regulation of neurite growth were
investigated. Since both the phosphatidylinositol (PI) pathway and protein
kinase C have been implicated in transmembrane signal transduction, protein
and lipid phosphorylation reactions were examined in intact growth cone
particles (GCPs) isolated from fetal rat brain. Three major substrates of
Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation were observed: proteins of 40 and 46 kDa and
an acidic 80 kDa species separated in 2D PAGE (pp40, pp46, and pp80ac). The
pp40 and pp80ac substrates had similar rates of 32P incorporation, whereas
that of pp46 was more rapid. The importance of protein kinase C in growth
cone function is indicated by the enhancement of phosphorylation of the 3
major substrates by the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate
(TPA). An examination of the Ca2+-dependent 32P incorporation into pp40 and
pp46 revealed serine to be the only amino acid phosphorylated under these
conditions. A rapidly metabolized pool of phosphoinositides was observed in
GCPs. This suggests the presence of the Pl pathway's enzymes in this
fraction. Inositol trisphosphate (IP3) was found to stimulate the
phosphorylation of pp40 and pp80ac, indicating a possible link between the
activation of the PI pathway and protein phosphorylation. Our findings
demonstrate the prominence of the PI pathway and of Ca2+-dependent protein
phosphorylation in the growth cone and may suggest the involvement of these
mechanisms in growth- factor signal transduction.