Diacylglycerol activation of protein kinase C is modulated by long-chain acyl-CoA

The activity of rat brain protein kinase C, measured in the presence of diacylglycerol, phosphatidylserine and Ca⁺², was found to be greatly increased by micromolar amounts of long chain acyl-CoAs, using two different assay systems (lipids added as sonicated dispersion or as mixed micelles with Triton X-100). The potentiation phenomenon required the presence of both diacylglycerol and phosphatidylserine; it was observed at low and saturating concentrations of these effectors, and it was inhibited at high, non physiological Ca⁺² concentrations. Under similar conditions, fatty acids alone or coenzyme A were ineffective. The data strongly suggest that acyl-CoAs at the intracellular concentration levels, are important in the modulation of protein kinase C, after activation of the enzyme by the phospholipase C/phosphatidylinositol pathway.