Regulated secretion depends upon a highly coordinated series of protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. Two phosphoinositides, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, are important for the ATP-dependent priming of the secretory apparatus prior to Ca 2؉ -dependent exocytosis. Mechanisms that control phosphoinositide levels are likely to play an important role in priming fine tuning. Here we have investigated the involvement of PIKfyve, a phosphoinositide 5-kinase that can phosphorylate phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate to produce phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate on large dense core vesicle exocytosis from neuroendocrine cells. PIKfyve localizes to a subpopulation of secretory granules in chromaffin and PC12 cells. Nicotine stimulation promoted recruitment of PIKfyve-EGFP onto secretory vesicles in PC12 cells. YM-201636, a selective inhibitor of PIKfyve activity, and PIKfyve knockdown by small interfering RNA potentiated secretory granule exocytosis. Overexpression of PIKfyve or its yeast orthologue Fab1p inhibited regulated secretion in PC12 cells, whereas a catalytically inactive PIKfyve mutant had no effect. These results demonstrate a novel inhibitory role for PIKfyve catalytic activity in regulated secretion and provide further evidence for a fine tuning of exocytosis by 3-phosphorylated phosphoinositides.Neurotransmitters and hormones are released from their storage vesicles into the extracellular space via calciumdependent exocytosis. Much work has been directed toward identifying the proteins involved in and regulating the exocytic process. These include members of the SNARE family of proteins, synaptotagmins (1, 2, 4, 5, 13), and a host of regulatory proteins, such as Munc18a (6, 7). In addition to the critical role played by membrane proteins, there is an increasing amount of literature pointing to the importance of lipids, in particular phosphoinositides, in the regulation of membrane trafficking events, including regulated exocytosis (8 -13).Phosphoinositides are generated by the reversible phosphorylation of the inositol head group of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns)2 by an array of kinases and phosphatases at one or more of the 3-, 4-, and 5-OH positions (10). Previous studies have highlighted the importance of a plasma membrane pool of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate for regulated exocytosis of large dense core vesicles (LDCV) (14 -17).We recently demonstrated an involvement of the type II PI3K, PI3K-C2␣, and its product PtdIns(3)P in priming, an ATPdependent step during which LDCV acquire the ability to fuse with the plasma membrane (12). This novel role played by PtdIns(3)P in promoting the priming stage of exocytosis has opened a number of new research avenues regarding the mechanism(s) regulating the concentration of PtdIns(3)P and the potential role played by other 3-phosphorylated phosphoinositides in neurosecretory cells.Priming is a reversible step and must be tightly controlled to prevent too many vesicles from reaching the primed state. Pt...