Tetanus toxin attenuates the ability of phorbol myristate acetate to mobilize cytosolic protein kinase C in NG-108 cells.

Although the pathology of tetanus toxin poisoning has been linked to an inhibition of neurotransmitter release, the mechanism of this inhibition is unknown. The neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cell NG-108 is an emerging model in which to study the biochemical effect of tetanus toxin on acetylcholine secretion. In differentiated as well as undifferentiated NG-108 cells, a 4 hr tetanus toxin (10(-8) M) pretreatment had no effect on basal levels of cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP. In addition, toxin pretreatment did not affect agonist induced increases in either cyclic nucleotide. Treatment of NG-108 cells for 4 hr with 10(-10) M tetanus toxin had no effect on the subsequently measured activity of cytosolic protein kinase C. However, a 4 hr pretreatment of undifferentiated or differentiated cells with tetanus toxin (10(-8) or 10(-10) M respectively) significantly attenuated the ability of phorbol myristate acetate to mobilize cytosolic protein kinase C. Direct addition of tetanus toxin (10(-7)-10(-10) M) to isolated protein kinase C did not alter the ability of the enzyme to phosphorylate histone protein. These results suggest that one manifestation of tetanus toxin poisoning may be a disruption in protein kinase C metabolism.