Inhibition of diacylglycerol metabolism in isolated cardiac myocytes by U-57 908 (RHC 80267), a diacylglycerol lipase inhibitor

U-57 908 (RHC 80267) inhibited diacylglycerol (DG) lipase activity in soluble and microsomal subcellular fractions from cardiac myocytes isolated from adult rat hearts; half-maximal inhibition was observed at a concentration of 3.5 microM. Monoacylglycerol lipase activity was much less sensitive to inhibition, but U-57 908 reduced lipoprotein lipase activity in cardiac myocytes with the same sensitivity as observed for DG lipase. DG kinase activity was not inhibited by U-57 908. DG metabolism by intact cardiac myocytes was studied in incubations with a cell-permeable DG analog, 3H]-dioctanoylglycerol (diC8). DiC8 was mainly metabolized by conversion to mono-octanoylglycerol (monoC8) and glycerol (lipase pathway); much less radioactivity was incorporated into the triacylglycerol and total phospholipid fractions. U-57 908 reduced the loss of radioactivity from the exogenous diC8 substrate, with a corresponding decline in the formation of radiolabelled monoC8 and glycerol. The incorporation of radioactivity into phospholipids was slightly reduced, but triacylglycerol synthesis from diC8 was increased in the presence of U-57 908. Therefore, U-57 908 is an effective inhibitor of DG metabolism by the lipase pathway in intact cardiac myocytes.