Enhanced keratinocyte prostaglandin synthesis after UV injury is due to increased phospholipase activity.

The possibility that increased eicosanoid synthesis in skin after ultraviolet light irradiation is due to enhanced phospholipase activity was examined. [3H]arachidonic acid-labeled human keratinocyte cultures exposed to 30 mJ/cm2 ultraviolet (UV) B were studied 6 h after injury. Bradykinin-stimulated release of [3H]arachidonic acid was increased 1.8-fold over release from control cultures by prior irradiation. In unlabeled cultures, prior irradiation produced a threefold increase in bradykinin-stimulated prostaglandin (PG) E2 synthesis as measured by immunoassay. The relative contribution of increased phospholipase vs. cyclooxygenase activity was therefore examined using stable isotope mass measurements of PGE2. By this method, prior irradiation increased bradykinin-stimulated phospholipase activity 3.5-fold, while no change in total cellular cyclooxygenase activity was observed. The effects of irradiation on phospholipase activity were then assessed in more detail. The activities of phospholipase A2, arachidonoyl-CoA synthetase, and arachidonoyl-CoA lysophosphatide acyltransferase in cell homogenates were determined. No effect of UV exposure on the activity of these enzymes was observed. These results suggest that the increase in prostaglandin synthesis produced after UV irradiation is due to increased phospholipase activity, thus enhancing arachidonate release.