J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 261, Issue 17, 7742-7747, Jun, 1986
Cytotoxic ether phospholipids. Different affinities to lysophosphocholine acyltransferases in sensitive and resistant cells
DB Herrmann and HA Neumann
Alkyllysophospholipids (ALP) which are 1-O-alkyl analogs of the cell
membrane component 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (1-acyl-GPC)
represent a family of new antitumor drugs. Susceptibility of cells to ALP
is correlated to a selective inhibition of fatty acid incorporation into
1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine in intact cells. This report
examines oleoyl-CoA-1-acyl-GPC acyl-transferase activities in cell-free
systems of ALP-sensitive methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma cells
(MethA cells) and ALP-resistant bone marrow-derived murine macrophages (BMM
phi). The specific activities for the oleoyl- CoA-1-acyl-GPC
acyltransferases were 1.05 +/- 0.06 nmol X mg-1 X min-1 and 2.98 +/- 0.27
nmol X mg-1 X min-1, respectively. The kinetic parameters for
1-palmitoyl-GPC were Km = 16.6 microM, Vmax = 4.3 nmol X mg-1 X min-1 (BMM
phi) and Km = 7.6 microM, Vmax = 2.0 nmol X mg-1 X min-1 (MethA cells). In
the presence of 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl racemic glycero-3-phosphocholine
(ET-18-OCH3), one of the most potent cytotoxic ALP, the acyltransferase was
dose dependently inhibited in MethA cells with a 50% inhibition
concentration at 40 micrograms/ml. The BMM phi-acyltransferase was not
affected up to 80 micrograms of ET- 18-OCH3/ml. The kinetic parameters (Km'
= 15.4 microM, Vmax' = 2.2 nmol X mg-1 X min-1) suggest that ET-18-OCH3 is
a competitive inhibitor in MethA cells. Inhibitor constants for ET-18-OCH3,
calculated from Dixon plots, were found to be 423 microM (BMM phi) and 13
microM (MethA cells) indicating a 33-fold larger affinity of ET-18-OCH3 to
the MethA cells than to the BMM phi acyltransferase. From these data we
assume that the inhibition of oleic acid incorporation into cellular
phosphocholine during the antineoplastic action of ALP may be due to
different affinities of the inhibitor to the 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferases in
different cell types.