Lipid phosphate phosphohydrolase-1 degrades exogenous glycerolipid and sphingolipid phosphate esters

Lipid phosphate phosphohydrolase (LPP)-1 cDNA was cloned from a rat liver cDNA library. It codes for a 32-kDa protein that shares 87 and 82% amino acid sequence identities with putative products of murine and human LPP-1 cDNAs, respectively. Membrane fractions of rat2 fibroblasts that stably expressed mouse or rat LPP-1 exhibited 3.1-3.6-fold higher specific activities for phosphatidate dephosphorylation compared with vector controls. Increases in the dephosphorylation of lysophosphatidate, ceramide 1-phosphate, sphingosine 1-phosphate and diacylglycerol pyrophosphate were similar to those for phosphatidate. Rat2 fibroblasts expressing mouse LPP-1 cDNA showed 1.6-2.3-fold increases in the hydrolysis of exogenous lysophosphatidate, phosphatidate and ceramide 1-phosphate compared with vector control cells. Recombinant LPP-1 was located partially in plasma membranes with its C-terminus on the cytosolic surface. Lysophosphatidate dephosphorylation was inhibited by extracellular Ca²⁺ and this inhibition was diminished by extracellular Mg²⁺. Changing intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations did not alter exogenous lysophosphatidate dephosphorylation significantly. Permeabilized fibroblasts showed relatively little latency for the dephosphorylation of exogenous lysophosphatidate. LPP-1 expression decreased the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase and DNA synthesis by exogenous lysophosphatidate. The product of LPP-1 cDNA is concluded to act partly to degrade exogenous lysophosphatidate and thereby regulate its effects on cell signalling.