Evidence that arachidonic acid influences hen granulosa cell steroidogenesis and plasminogen activator activity by a protein kinase C-independent mechanism

We recently proposed that arachidonic acid serves as a second messenger within granulosa cells from the largest preovulatory follicle of the hen. The present studies were conducted to determine whether the inhibitory effects of arachidonic acid on LH-induced cAMP accumulation and on the ability of cells to convert 25-hydroxycholesterol to progesterone are mediated via the protein kinase C pathway. Furthermore, we determined the effects of arachidonic acid on plasminogen activator activity in granulosa cells. In the first experiment, the putative protein kinase C inhibitor, staurosporine, completely reversed the inhibitory effects of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on LH-promoted cAMP formation, but failed to overcome the inhibitory effects of arachidonic acid. Prolonged pretreatment (18 h) with 1.6 μM PMA depleted granulosa cells of both cytosolic and membrane-associated protein kinase C, and subsequently attenuated the inhibitory effects of PMA on LH-induced progesterone production; however, such depletion did not alter the inhibitory effects of phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂; an agent that increases intracellular levels of arachidonic acid). PMA, but not arachidonic acid, caused a rapid (within 2 min) translocation of protein kinase C from the cytosol to the membrane (a characteristic of agents that activate protein kinase C). Finally, both arachidonic acid and PLA₂ inhibit plasminogen activator (PA) activity in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas activation of protein kinase C with PMA stimulates PA activity. Taken together, the data suggest that the effects of arachidonic acid in granulosa cells can occur independently of protein kinase C activation. Since arachidonic acid also inhibits progesterone production in granulosa cells after ionophore (A23187)-induced calcium mobilization, we propose that the modulatory actions of arachidonic acid on steroid production may be mediated by an interaction with the calcium/calmodulin second messenger pathway.