Protective role of phosphatidic acid in the cellular response to lysophosphatidylcholine analogues

Abstract

The synthetic lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) analogue edelfosine and the naturally occurring platelet activating factor (PAF) are structurally related lipids. Edelfosine is a potent antitumor drug, while PAF is a neurotoxic lipid that has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease. These LPC analogues are also toxic to budding yeast, which can be used as an excellent model system to investigate their mode of action.LPC analogues induce alterations in membrane organization, lipid metabolism and signaling in yeast. Phosphatidic acid (PA) produced by the activity of PLD alleviates sensitivity of yeast cells to PAF and edelfosine. PA is a key lipid signalling and precursor of all glycerolipids. Recent lipid analysis indicates that diacylglycerol (DAG) accumulates in cells treated with LPC analogues and this could contribute to their toxicity. In fact, sensitivity assays in yeast genetically manipulated to alter PA and DAG levels clearly support a protective role of PA in the response to these lipid drugs. Altogether, the evidence suggests that cells are able to sense altered PA: DAG ratios induced by these metabolically stable lipids. While DAG binding proteins have not been clearly identified in yeast, several yeast proteins recognize PA with high specificity. One such protein is the transcriptional repressor Opi1, which regulates expression of phospholipid biosynthetic genes through its interaction with PA. We provide evidence supporting a role of Opi1 in sensing the membrane changes induced by edelfosine, including i) altered sensitivity of cells lacking Opi1, ii) prevalent nuclear localization and iii) Opi1‐dependent UASINO gene repression induced by edelfosine.