Induction of neutrophil chemotactic factor production by staurosporine in rat peritoneal neutrophils

1. Incubation of rat peritoneal neutrophils in medium containing various concentrations of staurosporine (6.4-64 nM) increased the neutrophil chemotactic activity in the conditioned medium in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. 2. Separation of the neutrophil chemotactic activity in the conditioned medium by isoelectric focusing revealed that staurosporine (64 nM) stimulated the production of basic (pH > 8) neutrophil chemotactic factors, while TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate, 49 nM) stimulated the production of both basic (pH > 8) and acidic (pH 5) neutrophil chemotactic factors. 3. Determination by immunoassay of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC)-1, -2 alpha, -2 beta and -3 in the conditioned medium at 4 h revealed that staurosporine (64 nM) and TPA (49 nM) strongly stimulated the production of CINC-3 (staurosporine, 133.0 +/- 3.8; TPA, 26.7 +/- 1.0; control, 0.32 +/- 0.01 ng ml-1, means +/- s.e.mean from four samples) compared to CINC-1 (staurosporine, 55.0 +/- 1.2; TPA, 12.2 +/- 0.3; control, 0.56 +/- 0.01 ng ml-1), and CINC-2 alpha (staurosporine, 1.09 +/- 0.03; TPA, 0.90 +/- 0.02; control, < 0.10 ng ml-1). CINC-2 beta was below the detectable amount (< 0.078 ng ml-1). 4. The level of CINC-3 mRNA in the peritoneal neutrophils was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Staurosporine (64 nM) and TPA (49 nM) enhanced the level of CINC-3 mRNA time-dependently, but had no effect on GAPDH mRNA levels. 5. Production of staurosporine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor was inhibited by the protein kinase C inhibitors, H-7 (IC50, 12.3 microM), calphostin C (IC50, 0.77 microM) and Ro 31-8425 (24.3% inhibition at 10 microM), and by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein (IC50, 68.5 microM). Production of TPA-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor was also inhibited by both inhibitors. 6. Both the staurosporine- and the TPA-induced increase in CINC-3 mRNA levels were suppressed by H-7 and genistein.

Neutrophil chemotactic activities in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with bronchial asthma

OBJECTIVES

To elucidate the presence of neutrophil chemotactic factor (NCF) and characterize them in the bronchial trees of symptomatic patients with bronchial asthma.

METHODS

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids were concentrated by ultrafiltration. Differential counts of BAL cells was performed upto 500 cells on the cytocentrifuge-prepared slides. NCF activities in concentrated BAL fluids were measured by using microchemotactic chamber. These NCF activities were characterized by heat-stability, sensitivity to trysin and solubility into organic solvent.

RESULTS

NCF activities were significantly higher in low molecular weight (LMW)-BAL fluid fraction below 5000 dalton than those in high molecular weight (HMW)-BAL fluid fraction. The NCF activities were significantly higher in the patients with bronchial asthma when compared to those of normal subjects. The LMW-NCF and HMW-NCF activities were correlated with the percentages of neutrophils in BAL fluid in the patients with bronchial asthma. The LMW-NCF activities were extractable into ether, stable to heat and resistant to trypsin.

CONCLUSIONS

Main NCF activities in BAL fluid are suggested to be lipid substances with low molecular weight less than 5000 dalton and these substances may recruit neutrophils into the bronchial trees of patients with bronchial asthma.

Antitumor effect of PSK at a distant site: inductions of interleukin-8-like factor and macrophage chemotactic factor in murine tumor

The antitumor effect of PSK, a Coriolus preparation, at a distant site was analyzed with the use of a double grafted tumor system in which male BALB/c mice received simultaneous intradermal inoculations of Meth-A tumor in the right (10(6) cells) and the left (2 x 10(5) cells) flanks and were then injected with PSK in the right tumor on the third day thereafter. The antitumor effect of intratumoral administration of PSK in the right tumor on days 3, 4 and 5 was compared with the effect of surgical resection of the right tumor on day 5. Three out of 8 mice given PSK intratumorally became tumor-free whereas no mouse tumor-free in the left flank was found among the surgically resected mice. As regards sinecomitant immunity, tumor inoculation into the right flank followed by intra-tumoral administration of PSK on days 3 and 5 and surgical excision of the primary tumor on day 6 resulted in complete rejection of a tumor challenge in the left flank on day 21. The combination of presurgical intratumoral injections of PSK (more than 2 times) and postoperative oral administration of PSK appeared to be most effective in eradicating secondary tumors. Isolated TILs (tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes), obtained from the right tumor (treated with PSK) and the left tumor on day 10 in the double grafted tumor system were cultured in RPMI1640 with 10% fetal calf serum for 24 h. The culture supernatants were harvested and tested for the presence of chemotactic activity for neutrophils or macrophages. Significant neutrophil chemotactic factor (NCF) and macrophage chemotactic factor (MCF) activities were detected in the culture media from PSK-treated TILs that had been cultured for 24 h. Neither significant neutrophil nor macrophage chemotactic activity was detected in the media from untreated TILs. NCF and MCF activities were also detected in the culture supernatant from PSK-treated tumor tissue on day 6. PSK-induced NCF in the murine tumor was neutralized by treatment with anti-human IL-8 IgG, and might be murine IL-8-like factor. Therefore, neutrophil and macrophage infiltrations of tumors following intratumoral injections of PSK are probably mediated by inductions of IL-8-like factor and MCF.