Increased arachidonic acid metabolites from cells in culture after treatment with the phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus.

Treatment of rat liver cells (the C-9 cell line), porcine aorta endothelial cells, bovine aorta smooth muscle cells, bovine aorta endothelial cells, mouse fibroblasts and rat keratinocytes with highly purified, crystallized Bacillus cereus phospholipase C, which hydrolyzes phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine but has little or no effect on phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, cardiolipin, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine or lysophosphatidylethanolamine, increased metabolism of arachidonic acid. Hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (and/or phosphatidylethanolamine) by a phosphatidylcholine (or phosphatidylethanolamine)-hydrolyzing phospholipase C appears to contribute to liberation of substrate for arachidonic acid metabolism.