Agneta Johansson

Activation of the oxygen-radical-generating system in granules of intact human neutrophils by a calcium ionophore (ionomycin).

Subcellular fractionation studies were performed on human neutrophils stimulated with ionomycin (a Ca(2+)-specific ionophore). The results of these studies revealed NADPH-oxidase activity, without any additive, both in the plasma membrane and in the specific granule fractions. After comparing these results with the NADPH oxidase activity induced by the ionophore in intact neutrophils, in differentiated HL-60 cells and in neutrophil cytoplasts, we conclude that ionomycin preferentially activates the NADPH oxidase pool located in the membrane of specific granules. Furthermore, we suggest that incorporation of granule membrane into the plasma membrane makes the associated NADPH oxidase less sensitive to activation induced by a rise in [Ca(2+)]i.

Analysis of horseradish peroxidase-amplified chemiluminescence produced by human neutrophils reveals a role for the superoxide anion in the light emitting reaction

When polymorphonuclear leukocytes and soluble or particulate matter interact, the cells produce chemiluminescence, which is linked to activation of the oxidative metabolism of the cells. A luminol chemiluminescence assay in which the reaction mixture contains a relatively large amount of horseradish peroxidase combined with sodium azide has been proposed to quantitate H2O2 produced by human neutrophils during the respiratory burst (M.P. Wymann, V. von Tscharner, D. A. Deranleau, and M. Baggiolini (1987) Anal. Biochem. 165, 371-378). We found, when comparing the response to concanavalin A and a formylated peptide (formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine), that neutrophils produce H2O2 that is not detected as chemiluminescence by the horseradish peroxidase-azide-luminol system. Furthermore, the horseradish peroxidase-amplified chemiluminescence response obtained from granule-depleted neutrophil cytoplasts is inhibited by superoxide dismutase, an O2- scavanger. Based on these results, we question the specificity of the described technique for H2O2. The usefulness of the technique in the determining the extracellular and intracellular production of oxidative metabolites is discussed.

Characterization of the luminol-amplified light-generating reaction induced in human monocytes.

Increased production of oxidative metabolites following interaction between mononuclear phagocytes and soluble stimuli can be measured as luminol‐amplified chemiluminescence (CL). The effects of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and azide on the monocyte CL response were investigated. Azide, a myeloperoxidase (MPO) inhibitor, reduced the CL reaction by more than 80%, which indicates that the CL reaction is dependent on the granule enzyme MPO. Because SOD and catatase only partly inhibited the monocyte CL response, the authors propose that part of the monocyte CL response is of intracellular origin. This conclusion is further supported by the effects on the CL response obtained by adding extra peroxidase and the lack of correlation with techniques measuring only extracellular generated metabolites. However, it should be pointed out that the relation between extracellular and intracellular activity is stimulus dependent. Furthermore, even if quantitative differences exist between monocyte and granulocyte CL, the mechanism for the light‐generating reaction seems to be the same in both cell types.

Neutrophil control of formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine induced mobilization of secretory vesicles and NADPH-oxidase activation: Effect of an association of the ligand-receptor complex to the cytoskeleton

The stimulus formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) interacts with neutrophils and generates signal(s) in the cells that induces mobilization of the secretory vesicles as well as activation of the superoxide anion/hydrogen peroxide generating NADPH-oxidase. Binding, at 15 degrees C, of FMLP to its neutrophil surface receptor is followed by an association of the ligand-receptor complex to the cell cytoskeleton, and this association occurs concomitant with a desensitization of the cells with respect to activation of the NADPH-oxidase. Other stimuli can still activate the oxidase (in fact even induce a primed response), indicating that the observed phenomenon is stimulus specific and could not be accounted for by an effect on the oxidase itself, but rather that the association of the ligand-receptor complex to the cytoskeleton eliminates the capacity of the complex to generate the signal(s) that activates the NADPH-oxidase. The cytoskeleton associated ligand-receptor complex generates, however, the signal(s) responsible for mobilization of the secretory vesicles, to the plasma membrane, and this mobilization occurs without any increase in the intracellular concentration of free Ca2+.

Difference in hydrogen peroxide release between human neutrophils and neutrophil cytoplasts following calcium ionophore activation. A role of the subcellular granule in activation of the NADPH-oxidase in human neutrophils?

The role of subcellular granule in the capacity to generate reactive oxygen metabolites in human granulocytes was studied using normal cells and organell-free neutrophil cytoplasts. The cytoplasts are devoid of granules but have an intact ligand-receptor coupling mechanism. Both the chemotactic peptide formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (FMLP) and the ionophore ionomycin induced a chemiluminescence response in normal cells, but only FMLP stimulation was associated with any notable hydrogen peroxide production. However, in the presence of azide, a potent inhibitor of the hydrogen peroxide-consuming enzymes, catalase and myeloperoxidase, a pronounced release of hydrogen peroxide was also induced by ionomycin. The response of cytoplasts to FMLP proceeded with a rate and time-course similar to those seen in intact cells, whereas in response to ionomycin they produced very low quantities of hydrogen peroxide, even in the presence of azide. Analysis of the data presented in this study leads to the following conclusion: (i) FMLP, which acts through cell surface receptors, causes the cells to produce oxygen metabolites, which, to a large extent, are released from the cells, a process that is not dependent on subcellular granule; and (ii) ionomycin, which bypasses cell surface receptors, is also capable of stimulating hydrogen peroxide formation that is granule-dependent and that is retained inside the cells.

CHEMOATTRACTANT-INDUCED NADPH OXIDASE ACTIVITY IN HUMAN MONOCYTES IS TERMINATED WITHOUT ANY ASSOCIATION OF RECEPTOR-LIGAND COMPLEX TO CYTOSKELETON

When the chemotactic peptide formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine binds to its cell surface receptor, a transmembrane signal is generated that activates the superoxide-producing NADPH oxidase of human phagocytes. Comparing monocytes and neutrophils with regard to the production of superoxide anion induced by the peptide, we found a similar time-course for both types of cells. In neutrophils, ligand binding induced a conversion of the receptor to a high-affinity form, a change suggested to be due to an association of the receptor-ligand complex to the Triton X-100-insoluble cytoskeleton. This event has been hypothesized to terminate the signal that activates the NADPH oxidase and thereby results in cessation of the cellular production of superoxide anion. Neutrophils preincubated with the cytoskeleton-disrupting drug cytochalasin B showed an increased and prolonged superoxide anion production after activation with the peptide, thus indicating that the cytoskeleton is involved in terminating this response. Formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine was also found to induce polymerization of actin in monocytes; however, cytochalasin B had no effect on the peptide-induced generation of superoxide anion in these cells. Furthermore, also in monocytes, ligand binding induced a conversion of the receptor to a high-affinity form; however, the receptor-ligand complex did not coisolate with the Triton X-100-insoluble cytoskeleton. These results indicate that, in monocytes, the NADPH oxidase activating pathway is terminated without any association of the receptor-ligand complex to the Triton X-100-insoluble cytoskeleton.