Arachidonic acid (AA), the precursor of prostaglandins and leukotrienes, can be directly liberated from membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A2 or indirectly by phospholipase C. One or both of these enzymes may be responsible for the increased content of AA found in psoriatic lesional epidermis. Keratome biopsies were obtained from normal and psoriatic individuals. After homogenization and sonication, a 10,000 g supernatant was used as the enzyme source. The activities of both phospholipase A2 and C were assayed in each sample using phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol, respectively, as substrates. Phospholipase A2 activity was found to be significantly higher than normal in both uninvolved and lesional psoriatic epidermis. In contrast, phospholipase C activity was significantly higher than normal in only the psoriatic plaque on the basis of wet weight (p less than 0.001), protein (p = 0.01), and DNA (p = 0.004) content. Phospholipase C activity in pmol diacylglycerol formed/min/microgram DNA was: normal 4.96 +/- 0.80, n = 13; uninvolved 7.29 +/- 1.06, n = 18; plaque 14.44 +/- 2.50, n = 18. Analysis (pH profile, calcium requirement, substrate specificity, and saturation kinetics) of pooled epidermal extracts showed no inherent differences in phospholipase C from normal and psoriatic epidermis, suggesting either a higher concentration or the presence of an activated form of the enzyme in psoriatic plaque. Since phospholipase C activity, in contrast to phospholipase A2 activity, is elevated only in lesional epidermis, it is possible that this enzyme contributes to AA accumulation observed in this tissue.