Activation of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) by chemotactic peptide (FMLP) or phorbol ester (PMA) results in actin reorganization and PMN motility. Evidence suggests that PMA and FMLP activate PMN actin reorganization by different mechanisms. For example, the protein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid (OA), inhibits PMA- but not FMLP-induced actin rearrangement, suggesting protein dephosphorylation is key to PMA but not FMLP actin changes and that PMN actin reorganization occurs by multiple mechanisms, Further support for multiple actin polymerization mechanisms is the recent description of distinct F-actin pools coexisting with G-actin in PMNs, Triton insoluble F-actin (TIF) and Triton soluble F-actin (TSF). These studies examine quantitative actin pool-specific actin polymerization in PMA- and FMLP-activated PMNs using quantitative SDS-PAGE and the phosphorylation of proteins in each actin pool using P-32 orthophosphate (P-32) labeling. The results show: (1) OA alone has no effect on actin pool content; (2) PMA induces actin growth only in the TIF pool similar to results with FMLP, and (3) OA pretreatment has no effect on FMLP actin polymerization, but inhibits PMA-induced changes. P-32 results show that in basal PMNs, multiple phosphoproteins are found in the TIF including a protein of MW 34kd (pp34), the TSF pool contains a pp34 and a pp69 and the G-actin pool a pp34. PMA induces dephosphorylation of pp34 in the TIF (0.59 +/- 0.14 x basal, n = 3). OA prior to PMA prevents TIF pp34 dephosphorylation and actin shifts between the TIF, TSF, and G pools. OA alone results in phosphorylation of pp34 in all actin pools but no shift in actin content. The results show that (I) phosphoproteins exist in all three actin pools of PMNs-TIF-actin, TSF-actin, and G-actin; (2) both PMA and FMLP cause quantitatively identical actin polymerization in the TIF; and (3) in contrast, PMA but not FMLP TIF growth requires dephosphorylation of a pp34. This as yet unidentified phosphoprotein appears crucial to PMA- but not FMLP-induced actin polymerization.
