Separation of agonist-stimulated arachidonate mobilization from subsequent leukotriene B4 synthesis in human neutrophils: different effects of oleoylacetylglycerol and phorbol myristate acetate as priming agents

Inhibition of phospholipase A(2) abrogates intracellular processing of NADPH-oxidase derived reactive oxygen species in human neutrophils

Upon activation of human neutrophils, superoxide can be produced at two cellular sites; either in the plasma membrane, giving extracellular release of oxidants, or in intracellular organelles, resulting in oxidants being retained in the cell. The involvement of phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced activation of the two pools of NADPH-oxidase was investigated using a variety of PLA(2) inhibitors and the oxidase activity was measured by luminol/isoluminol-amplified chemiluminescence (CL). Two of the seven inhibitors were without effect, two inhibitors inhibited both intra- and extracellular ROS production equally, and three inhibitors inhibited intracellular but not extracellular CL. Using another technique to measure ROS, PHPA oxidation, we found that intracellular ROS production was unaltered with the three last inhibitors, indicating that PLA(2) is not involved in the NADPH-oxidase activity per se, but in the intracellular processing of the radicals necessary for the CL reaction to take place. The PLA(2) inhibitors did not abolish the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO), an enzyme necessary for intracellular CL to occur. Instead, we suggest that these PLA(2) inhibitors block heterotypic granule fusion and prohibit the colocalization of ROS and MPO needed for intracellular CL activity.

Induction of 5-lipoxygenase activation in polymorphonuclear leukocytes by 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol

1,2-Diacylglycerols (DAGs) can prime polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) for enhanced release of arachidonic acid (AA) and generation of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) products upon subsequent agonist stimulation. Here, we demonstrate that in isolated human PMNL, 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol (OAG) functions as a direct agonist stimulating 5-LO product formation (up to 42-fold). OAG caused no release of endogenous AA, but in the presence of exogenous AA, the magnitude of 5-LO product synthesis induced by OAG was comparable to that obtained with the Ca(2+)-ionophore A23187. Interestingly, OAG-induced 5-LO product synthesis was not connected with increased 5-LO nuclear membrane association. Examination of diverse glycerides revealed that the sn-2-acetyl-group is important, thus, also 1-O-hexadecyl-2-acetylglycerol (EAG) stimulated 5-LO product formation (up to 8-fold). Treatment of PMNL with OAG did not alter the mobilization of Ca(2+) but removal of intracellular Ca(2+) abolished the upregulatory OAG effects. Notably, the PKC activator phorbol-myristate-acetate hardly increased 5-LO product synthesis and PKC inhibitors failed to suppress the effects of OAG. Although OAG rapidly activated p38 MAPK and p42/44(MAPK), which can stimulate 5-LO for product synthesis, specific inhibitors of these kinases could not prevent 5-LO activation by OAG. Together, OAG acts as a direct agonist for 5-LO product synthesis in PMNL stimulating 5-LO by novel undefined mechanisms.

Phorbol ester up-regulates capacities for nuclear translocation and phosphorylation of 5-lipoxygenase in Mono Mac 6 cells and human polymorphonuclear leukocytes

The leukotrienes are inflammatory mediators derived from arachidonic acid. It was demonstrated that the priming of leukocytes with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) leads to the increased formation of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) products in parallel with the increased association of 5-LO with the nucleus and the activation of kinases that can phosphorylate 5-LO in vitro. Stimulation of the monocytic cell line Mono Mac 6 with calcium ionophore gave low 5-LO product formation and no detectable redistribution of 5-LO. However, after priming of Mono Mac 6 cells with phorbol esters, ionophore led to the association of 45% to 75% of cellular 5-LO with the nuclear membrane, to 5-LO kinase activation, to enhanced release of arachidonate, and to substantial leukotriene synthesis. Similar results were obtained for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes stimulated with low-dose ionophore. In addition, for each cell type, PMA priming up-regulated leukotriene biosynthesis in the presence of exogenous arachidonic acid. A protein kinase inhibitor, calphostin C, reduced the association of 5-LO with the nucleus and 5-LO kinase activity, and the formation of 5-LO products was inhibited. These results suggest that PMA up-regulates leukotriene biosynthesis not only by increasing the release of endogenous arachidonate, but also by increasing the capacity for 5-LO phosphorylation and for the translocation of 5-LO to the nucleus in leukocytes.

Differential activation of human neutrophil cytosolic phospholipase A2 and secretory phospholipase A2 during priming by 1,2-diacyl- and 1-O-alkyl-2-acylglycerols

We have shown previously that both 1,2-diacylglycerol (AAG) and 1-O-alkyl-2-acylglycerol (EAG) prime neutrophil release of arachidonic acid via uncharacterized phospholipases A2. Therefore, we investigated the actions of EAG and AAG specifically on neutrophil cytosolic (cPLA2) and secretory (sPLA2) phospholipase A2s. We hypothesized that AAG as a protein kinase activator would activate cPLA2 via phosphorylation events. EAG is antagonistic to the AAG activation of PKC, thus it was not expected to act via phosphorylation of cPLA2. Neutrophils were primed with either AAG or EAG and then stimulated with fMLP. When neutrophils were primed with 5-20 microM 1,2-diacylglycerol, a shift was observed in cPLA2 migration on SDS-PAGE gels, consistent with phosphorylation of the protein. This gel shift was not seen after exposure to EAG. AAG also caused a parallel increase in enzymatic activity of cPLA2 that was not seen with EAG. We also investigated whether either diglyceride would cause similar priming or direct secretion of sPLA2. Both AAG and EAG directly caused significant secretion of neutrophil sPLA2. EAG also increased the release of sPLA2 in cells subsequently stimulated with fMLP. Thus, AAG activated cPLA2 and stimulated secretion of sPLA2. In contrast, EAG did not activate cPLA2, but directly activated secretion of sPLA2. We also demonstrated that human synovial fluid sPLA2 increased AA release from resting and fMLP-stimulated neutrophils. Given that diglycerides prime for release of AA, PAF, and LTB4, these current data support the hypothesis that such priming may be mediated by phosphorylation dependent (cPLA2) or phosphorylation independent (e.g. secretion of sPLA2) events.

Role of arachidonic acid and its metabolites in the priming of NADPH oxidase in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes by peritoneal dialysis effluent

Peritoneal dialysis effluent (PDE) contains a low-molecular-weight solute that will activate and prime the NADPH oxidase of human neutrophils via a phospholipase A2 (PLA2)-dependent mechanism. Since the products of PLA2 are known to activate and prime the oxidase we have investigated their role in the dialysis effluent-mediated activation and priming of human neutrophils. NADPH oxidase activity of PDE-primed and -unprimed neutrophils was measured by lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence in the presence of known inhibitors of the arachidonic acid cascade. Incubation of neutrophils with the nonselective PLA2 inhibitor quinacrine (0 to 100 microM) reduced oxidase activity in both primed and unprimed cells. Furthermore, primed cells were more sensitive to the action of quinacrine than were unprimed cells. We were unable to determine the relative roles of secretory PLA2 (sPLA2) and cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2) since the selective sPLA2 inhibitor scalaradial (0 to 100 microM) inhibited oxidase activity in both groups of cells by similar degrees, while the specific cPLA2 inhibitor AACO-CF3 (0 to 50 microM) failed to affect activity in either group. Inhibition of platelet-activating factor (PAF), cycloxygenase, and 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein by hexanolamino-PAF (0 to 25 microM), flurbiprofen (0 to 25 microM), and MK886 (0 to 5 microM), respectively, had no effect upon oxidase activity. However, the direct inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase by caffeic acid or lipoxin A4 resulted in a similar concentration-dependent attenuation of oxidase activity in both primed and unprimed cells. Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) release from primed neutrophils was comparable to that from unprimed cells with the exception of phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated cells, which released fivefold more LTB4 than control. Taken together, these results suggest that it is arachidonic acid per se, and not its metabolites, that is important in priming of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase by dialysis effluent.

Protein-facilitated export of arachidonic acid from pig neutrophils

Activated neutrophils release a variety of eicosanoids into the extracellular medium including arachidonic acid, 5-hydroxyicosatetraenoic acid, and leukotriene A4 and B4. In this study, the mechanism of arachidonic acid export has been examined using inside-out plasma membrane vesicles from pig polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Tritiated arachidonic acid associated rapidly with the membrane vesicles and crossed the membrane into the intravesicular space in a time-dependent and saturable manner. Half the maximal influx rate was measured at an arachidonate concentration of 5.7 microM, and a maximal influx velocity of 3.0 nmol/mg x min was determined at pH 6.8. Influx into vesicles was sensitive to a number of common anion transport inhibitors including pentachlorophenol, phloretin, diiodosalicylic acid, and quercetin as well as to the proteases trypsin and Pronase, suggesting a protein-dependent process. Furthermore, influx was temperature-sensitive with an energy of activation of 11.6 kcal/mol. Varying extravesicular concentration of ATP, Na+, or K+ had no impact on arachidonate influx, whereas changes in pH had a profound effect; optimum transport activity was observed at an extravesicular pH of 6, whereas raising the pH to 9.5 essentially abolished uptake. These results indicate and initially characterize a novel protein-facilitated arachidonate export mechanism in pig neutrophils.

Induction of cytosolic phospholipase A2 activity by phosphatidic acid and diglycerides in permeabilized human neutrophils: interrelationship between phospholipases D and A2

Relationships between phospholipases are poorly understood, but phosphatidic acid (PA) and diglycerides (DGs), produced by phospholipase D (PLD) and phosphatidate phosphohydrolase actions, might function as second messengers coupling cell stimulation to cellular responses. This study investigates the role of PLD-mediated PA and DG formation in inducing phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity in intact human neutrophils (PMNs) and in PMNs permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin. PMNs were labelled with [3H]arachidonic acid (AA) to assess AA release and metabolism and diacylglycerol formation, or with [3H]1-O-hexadecyl-2-lyso-glycerophosphatidylcholine for the determination of platelet-activating factor (PAF), PA and alkylacylglycerol production. In intact PMNs primed with tumour necrosis factor alpha before stimulation with N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe, AA release and metabolism and PAF formation increased in parallel with enhanced PA and DG formation, and inhibition of PA and DG production led to a decrease in both AA release and PAF accumulation. In alpha-toxin-permeabilized PMNs, AA release and PAF production result from the specific activation of cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2). In this system, PA and DG formation were always present when cPLA2 activation occurred; blocking PA and DG production inhibited AA release and PAF accumulation. Adding either PA or DG back to permeabilized cells (with endogenous PA and DG formation blocked) led to a partial restoration of AA release and PAF formation; a combination of PA and DGs reconstituted full cPLA2 activity. These results strongly suggest that products of PLD participate in activating cPLA2 in PMNs.

Effects of three different Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitors on Ca2+ response and leukotriene release in RBL-2H3 cells

The effects of three Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitors, thapsigargin (TG), cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), and 2,5-di(tert-butyl)-1,4-hydroquinone (DTBHQ), on the Ca2+ response, degranulation, and leukotriene C4 (LTC4) release in RBL-2H3 cells were investigated. All three compounds elevated the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), and caused degranulation in the presence of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), a protein kinase C activator. The dose-dependency of each compound in the Ca2+ response was in good agreement with that in degranulation. TG and CPA also caused the release of LTC4 in a dose-dependent manner, and this effect was unaffected by TPA or calphostin C, a selective PKC inhibitor. DTBHQ, however, did not induce LTC4 release, and rather inhibited the antigen-induced release of LTC4. These results suggest [1] that both degranulation and LTC4 release caused by these compounds are dependent on their [Ca2+]i increasing effect, [2] that degranulation and LTC4 release are mediated via independent pathways following the Ca2+ response, and [3] that DTBHQ additionally prevents the synthesis of LTC4 possibly by inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase.

Cellular regulation of arachidonate mobilization and metabolism

Synthesis of eicosanoids is initiated by signal transduction cascades which result in the hydrolysis of free arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipids. Both a cytosolic 85 kDa and a nonpancreatic 14 kDa PLA2 may contribute to cellular arachidonate mobilization. In many cells, agonist-stimulated fatty acid release is dependent upon increases in intracellular free calcium and is enhanced by pretreatment with agents such as phorbol esters and soluble diglycerides. The response is specific for arachidonate and structurally similar polyunsaturated fatty acids containing a cis 5, 6 double bond. DMSO-differentiation of U937 cells markedly enhances the A23187-stimulated release of [3H]arachidonate, which appears to be coupled to differentiation-induced enhancement of capacitance calcium entry. Although both phorbol esters and soluble diglycerides enhance subsequent fMLP or A23187-stimulated arachidonate release in human neutrophils, several lines of evidence indicate that the effects of oleoylacetylglycerol and 1,2-dioctanoylglycerol are protein kinase C-independent. Soluble diglycerides, but not phorbol esters, enhance the coupling of arachidonate mobilization to subsequent leukotriene B4 synthesis. Further studies will be required to elucidate the mechanisms which regulate activation of cellular phospholipases and subsequent synthesis.