Abstract

Thrombin stimulates polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis in embryonic chick heart cells and in 1321N1 astrocytoma cells and increases intracellular Ca2+ in the 1321N1 cells. The serine protease trypsin mimics these actions in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas the proteolytically inactive thrombin derivatives diisopropyl fluorophosphate-thrombin (DIP-thrombin) and D-phenylalanyl-L-prolyl-L-arginine chloromethyl ketone-thrombin (PPACK-thrombin) are ineffective in this regard. The phosphoinositide responses to thrombin or trypsin and the muscarinic agonist carbachol are additive, but no additivity is observed between the responses to thrombin and trypsin. Unlike the response to carbachol, the phosphoinositide and Ca2+ responses to thrombin and trypsin desensitize, with no recovery of the calcium response even when Ca2+ stores are replenished. Cross-desensitization of phospholipase C activation and calcium mobilization between these proteases is also observed. In addition, PPACK-thrombin, which elicits no response itself, effectively inhibits trypsin-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis. It is proposed that thrombin and trypsin act through the same receptor. Proteolysis appears to be important in the mechanism by which these agonists elicit phosphoinositide hydrolysis, calcium mobilization, and, perhaps, subsequent receptor desensitization.