Microtubules are not an essential component of phytohemagglutinin-dependent signal transduction in Jurkat T lymphocytes.

We have used two disruptors of the cytoskeleton microtubular network (colchicine and vinblastine) to investigate the role of microtubules in Phaseolus vulgaris phytohemagglutinin (PHA) signal transduction in Jurkat T cells. Both drugs decreased but did not abolish the PHA-dependent Ca2+ response of Jurkat cells. Neither colchicine nor vinblastine had any major effects on the PHA-dependent turnover of the mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra-substituted phosphorylated derivatives of D-myo-inositol or the cellular distribution of protein kinase C (PKC) activity. However, both microtubule disruptors increased interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. Whereas vinblastine enhanced IL-2 production approximately twofold at all the concentrations tested (0.1, 1.0, and 10 microM), colchicine did so only at a 10 microM concentration. When a combination of PHA and 12-O-tetradecanoyl-13-O-acetyl phorbol (TPA) was used, a small increase in IL-2 production was observed only in the presence of vinblastine (10 microM). In contrast to recent reports that microfilaments may be involved in the regulation of signal transduction, our data suggest that this is not the case for microtubules in PHA-dependent signal transduction in Jurkat T cells.