Preferential inhibition of platelet-derived growth factor-stimulated DNA synthesis and protein tyrosine phosphorylation by nordihydroguaiaretic acid.

Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), a reportedly specific lipoxygenase inhibitor, was found to selectively inhibit platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated DNA synthesis in Swiss 3T3 cells. Maximal inhibition of PDGF-induced [3H]thymidine incorporation (96%) was observed using 4 microM NDGA (IC50 = 1.5 microM). No effect of NDGA was observed upon DNA synthesis stimulated with either fetal bovine serum, bombesin, or epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the presence of insulin, or with the potent mitogen Pasteurella multocida toxin. The selective inhibition of PDGF-stimulated DNA synthesis by NDGA was also observed in diploid murine cells, rat, and human fibroblasts. Furthermore, 4 microM NDGA also inhibited PDGF-stimulated anchorage-independent colony growth of rat-1 cells by 76%. Using Swiss 3T3 cells, we found that PDGF-stimulated arachidonic acid mobilization and prostaglandin E2 production was abolished by NDGA in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition of PDGF-stimulated arachidonic acid mobilization by NDGA could not, however, explain its potent inhibitory effect upon PDGF-stimulated DNA synthesis. Our results showed that NDGA also selectively inhibited PDGF receptor tyrosine phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner in intact cells. Protein tyrosine phosphorylation stimulated by EGF or bombesin was not altered by NDGA treatment. Crucially, NDGA inhibited in vitro the tyrosine kinase activity of anti-phosphotyrosine and anti-PDGF receptor immunoprecipitates prepared from cultures stimulated with PDGF. This inhibition of receptor tyrosine phosphorylation in a cell-free system confirmed that NDGA acts directly at the level of the PDGF receptor tyrosine kinase domain. These results suggest that the potent and selective inhibitory effect of NDGA on PDGF-stimulated DNA synthesis results from its inhibitory action on tyrosine phosphorylation.