Epidermal growth factor increases sn-1,2-diacylglycerol levels and activates phospholipase D-catalysed phosphatidylcholine breakdown in Swiss 3T3 cells in the absence of inositol-lipid hydrolysis.

Addition of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to quiescent Swiss 3T3 cells resulted in a sustained increase in cellular diacylglycerol (DG) content in the absence of inositol-lipid hydrolysis. In the presence of non-cytotoxic concentrations of butan-1-ol, EGF stimulated the formation of phosphatidylbutanol, indicating that the EGF receptor was able to couple to the activation of phospholipase D (PLD). EGF-stimulated release of choline from Swiss 3T3 cells suggested that the major substrate for this PLD was phosphatidylcholine. Unlike bombesin-stimulated PLD activity, the response to EGF was not inhibited by a selective protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor (Ro-31-8220), suggesting that it was not dependent on PKC activation. Pre-treatment of Swiss 3T3 cells with the EGF-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor AG18 selectively inhibited EGF-stimulated PLD activity; bombesin-stimulated PLD activity was unaffected. Butan-1-ol inhibited phorbol ester- and bombesin-stimulated DG formation suggesting a role for a coupled PLD/phosphatidate phosphohydrolase pathway; in contrast, EGF-stimulated DG formation was unaffected.