Mauro Bongrazio

Blocking the interleukin-1 receptor inhibits leukotriene B4 and prostaglandin E2 generation in human monocyte cultures

Interleukin-1 is a potent stimulator of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism and this activity could be attributed to the activation of the prostaglandin-forming enzyme cyclooxygenase or of the arachidonic-releasing enzyme phospholipase A2 or both. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a cyclooxygenase product, and LTB4 (5-(S),12-(R)-dihydroxy-6,14-cis-8,10-trans-eicosatetraenoic acid), a lipoxygenase product, are potent mediators of inflammation. Recently a new cytokine produced by macrophages and named interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) (MW 22,000 Da) which specifically binds and blocks IL-1 receptors, has proven to be a potent inflammatory inhibitor. In our studies we found that monocyte suspensions, pretreated with hrIL-1ra at increasing concentrations (0.25-250 ng/ml) for 10 min and then treated with LPS in an overnight incubation inhibits, in a dose-dependent manner, the generation of LTB4 as measured by the highly sensitive radioimmunoassay method. In monocytes pretreated with hrIL-1ra (250 ng/ml) for 10 min and treated with arachidonic acid (10(-5)-10(-9) M) and LPS overnight, the release of LTB4 was partially inhibited when compared to hrIL-1ra-untreated cells. Moreover, hrIL-1ra (250 ng/ml) caused a partial inhibition of monocyte LTB4 production when the cells were activated with AA (10(-7) M) and then treated with IL-1 beta (5 ng/ml) overnight or 24 hr incubation. In addition, human monocytes pretreated for 10 min with increasing doses of hrIL-1ra (0.25-250 ng/ml) and then treated with hrIL-1 alpha (5 ng/ml) or beta (5 ng/ml) for 18 hr, also resulted in the inhibition of PGE2 generation as measured by RIA when compared with hrIL-1ra-untreated cells. When the cells were treated with hrIL-1ra (250 ng/ml) and activated for 18 and 48 hr with increasing doses of hrIL-1 beta a strong inhibitory effect was found on PGE2 production. HrIL-1ra used at 15 ng/ml gave a partial inhibition of LTB4 generation, after LPS (1-100 ng/ml) treatment, while NDGA totally blocked the production of LTB4. Moreover, PGE2 released by macrophages activated with LPS (100 ng/ml) or hrIL-1 beta (5 ng/ml) at 18 hr incubation time was strongly inhibited when hrIL-1ra (250 ng/ml) was used. These data suggest that the inhibition of LTB4 and PGE2 by this new macrophage-derived monokine IL-1ra occurs through the block of the IL-1 receptor, rather than phospholipase A2, and thus IL-1ra may offer a potential therapeutic approach to inflammatory states.

Role of lipoxins A4 and B4 in the generation of arachidonic acid metabolites by rat mast cells and their effect on [3H]serotonin release

Basophils located in tissues are called mast cells and are found in connective tissue. Many different compounds are secreted from basophil granules upon appropriate stimulation. Products such as heparin, histamine, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), and membrane-derived materials which give rise to arachidonic acid metabolites, such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes, are some of the more important compounds released by mast cells. These compounds, when released after stimulation with a variety of molecules, such as IgE, specific antigen anaphylotoxin, as well as the compound 48/80 (C48/80) or calcium ionophore A23187, cause contraction of endothelial cells and mediate atopic or anaphylactic hypersensitivity. In this report, we study the generation of some arachidonic acid products, namely leukotrienes C4, D4, E4, and B4 and the prostaglandins D2 and E2 by rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMC), using calcium ionophore A23187 as a degranulating agonist. We have also studied the new lipoxygenase products, lipoxins A4 and B4, on RPMC secretion using C48/80 as a secretagogue. A rat basophilic leukemia cell line (RBL) was also used to compare results with RPMC. In this paper we have demonstrated that RPMC stimulated with A23187 release LTC4, LTD4, LTE4 and LTB4 and also PGD2 but not PGE2. These results were also confirmed when RBLs were used. In addition, we have shown that mast cells pretreated with LTC4, LTD4, LTE4 or 15-HETE do not modify the release of [3H]5HT exerted by C48/80 (0.5 microgram/ml) or A23187 (5 micrograms/ml). When LXA4 or B4 was used, mast cells were inhibited slightly (not statistically significant) from degranulating after the secretagogue treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Human recombinant interleukin-1 receptor antagonist inhibits lymphocyte blastogenesis induced by concanavalin A. Restorative effect of hrIL-1.

Interleukin‐1 (IL‐1), mainly produced by monocyte‐macrophages, is a polypeptide cytokine with pleiotropic biological effects. IL‐1 plays an important role in mediating immune response and inflammation. Recently a natural inhibitor to IL‐1 has been discovered, interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1ra), produced by human monocytes cultured on adherent IgG which binds to the IL‐1 receptors. In our study we found that the pretreatment of cells with serial dilutions of IL‐1ra (250 ng/ml−2.5 pg/ml) inhibits, in a dose‐dependent manner, lymphocyte DNA synthesis stimulated with Con A (10 μg/ml). IL‐1ra did not have any effect on resting peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Time course experiments show that IL‐1ra at 250 ng/ml has its maximum inhibitory effect on lymphocyte blastogenesis when cells are pretreated 2 h before Con A. No effect was found when hrIL‐1ra was added after Con A. Moreover, hrIL‐1ra also inhibits the enhancing effects of exogenous hrIL‐1 (400, 200, 100 and 50 ng/ml) on lymphocytes stimulated with Con A; while when hrIL‐1ra was used on cells treated with only Con A, the inhibition was more pronounced. When PBMC were removed from monocytes, by adherence, the Con A‐treated lymphocytes were not influenced by 2 h pretreatment of hrIL‐1ra; while a strong inhibition was found when exogenous hrIL‐1 was added at different concentrations. In addition, hrIL‐1ra also inhibits the enhancing effect of hrIL‐2 on lymphocyte DNA synthesis. In another set of experiments PBMC were pretreated with hrIL‐1ra (250 ng/ml) for 2 h and then added LPs (10 ng/ml) and IL‐1α generation was determined using ELISA. In these experiments IL‐1ra completely abolished the generation of IL‐1α. These data suggest that hrIL‐1ra exhibits a dose—response inhibition of lymphocyte blastogenesis induced by Con A, probably through the down‐regulation of IL‐1 synthesis necessary as an early signal for T‐cell activation and IL‐2 production.

Leukocyte inhibitory factor activates human neutrophils and macrophages to release leukotriene B4 and thromboxanes

Recent evidence has proved that cytokines can stimulate the production of 5-lipoxygenase products. Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a major mediator of leukocyte activation in acute inflammatory reactions, which produce chemotaxis, lysosomal enzyme release, and cell aggregation. Leukocyte inhibitory factor (LIF) also causes biological responses related to inflammation, i.e., LIF directly induces specific granule secretion by polymorphonuclears (PMNs) and potentiates many formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLPs) mediated responses. Since arachidonic acid products are important mediators of inflammation, we have studied the effects of LIF on the arachidonic acid cascade products LTB4 and thromboxane A2 (TxA2). Resuspended at a final concentration of greater than 95% polymorphonuclear PMNs were isolated and tested with some cytokines on the release of LTB4 and TxA2. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and seeded in Petri dishes and incubated for 60 min. Adherent macrophages were used for the cytokine stimulation study. Both types of leukocytes were treated with LIF, interleukin 6 (IL 6), and granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) at different concentrations, and test agents A23187 and FMLP. Radioimmunoassay for LTB4 and TxB2 was determined by the resulting supernatants. Treatment of PMNs and macrophages with LIF at different concentrations proved to generate significant increases in LTB4 and TxA2 production. This was compared with IL 6 and GM-CSF, which had no effects. In these experiments, TxA2 generations could not be attributed to platelet contamination of PMN suspensions. The quantity of platelet contamination was not sufficient to influence how much TxB2 was produced. The similarities of LIF to other arachidonate stimulating cytokines suggest a similar mode of action in producing hematologic changes typical of tissue injury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Inhibition of leukotriene B4 in neutrophils by lipoxins A4 and B4.

Lipoxins are derived from the oxygenation products of arachidonic acid in human leukocytes. They have exhibited selective biological effects different from those of other eicosanoids. We have examined the effect of lipoxin A4 and B4 (LXA4, LXB4) on the production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in human neutrophils. Cultured human polymorphonuclear leukocytes were preincubated with LXA and B and their ability to inhibit LTB4 generation was assessed after incubation with calcium ionophore A23187. We found that the pretreatment of neutrophils with lipoxins inhibit the release of LTB4 by A23187 stimulated PMNs. Our data suggests that LXA4 and B4 can contribute to immunosuppression in an inflammatory state via the inhibition of LTB4 synthesis.

Reduced mitogen stimulation of DNA synthesis in human lymphocytes by a human recombinant interleukin-1 receptor antagonist

The monokine interleukin-1 is produced by monocytes/macrophages after antigen/LPS stimulation and is an important early signal for the activation of resting T cells to become antigen specific T cells. However, little is known about the regulation and inhibition of IL-1. Recently, a new monokine has been described, generated by human macrophages, called interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra). This new monokine adheres to IL-1 in solution and blocks IL-1 receptor binding. IL-1ra is a glycoprotein structurally similar to IL-1 beta but having no interleukin-1-like activity. Using as a model mitogen (PHA 20 micrograms/ml)-stimulated lymphocyte DNA synthesis, we found that hrIL-1ra (30 min lymphocyte pretreatment) inhibits [3H]thymidine incorporation in a dose-dependent manner. This effect is most probably due to the inhibition of endogenous IL-1, which is a very important signal for T cell activation. The inhibition was maximum at the highest hrIL-1ra concentration used (250 ng/ml). However, when hrIL-1ra was added 2 h after PHA (20 micrograms/ml), a little, if any, inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation was found. The addition of hrIL-1ra simultaneously to the cell cultures with [3H]thymidine [( 3H]TdR) 6 h before the end of culture incubation did not significantly modify the results compared to the cells treated with PHA alone, indicating no interference of hrIL-1ra on [3H]TdR lymphocyte incorporation. We also found that the antibody anti-IL-1 beta inhibits mitogen stimulated lymphocyte DNA synthesis in dose-dependent concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Lipoxins A4 and B4 inhibit leukotriene B4 generation from human neutrophil leukocyte suspensions

Lipoxins A4 and B4 (5,6,15L-trihydroxy-7,9,11,13-eicosatetraenoic and 5D,14,15-trihydroxy-6,8,10,12-eicosatetraenoic acids, respectively) were examined in several biological systems and have proven to have many different activities from those of other eicosanoids. Cultured human polymorphonuclear leukocytes were preincubated with LXA and B and their ability to inhibit leukotriene B4 generation was assessed after incubation with the calcium ionophore A23187. The preincubation time of neutrophils with lipoxin A4 and B4 was 15 min. After that time the cells were incubated for 6 min with A23187 (5 microM) for the release of LTB4. We found that the pretreatment of neutrophils with lipoxins inhibited the release of LTB4 by A23187-stimulated PMNs. Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) (10 microM), used as a control, strongly inhibited the generation of LTB4. Since LTB4 has been shown to be a modulator of cellular immunity, our data suggest that lipoxin A4 and B4 can contribute to the immunosuppression via inhibition of LTB4 generation. Moreover, the inhibition of LTB4 by lipoxins in neutrophils could have an important regulatory role in inflammation.

Enhancing Effect of Electromagnetic Exposure on Calciumionophore (A23187), but Not IL-1, Induced Txa2 Release by Human Neutrophils

The exposure of human polymorphonuclears to an extremely low frequency (3 Hz) electromagnetic field for 1 hour had an enhancing effect on thromboxane A2 release stimulated by A23187 calcium ionophore. On the contrary, IL-1 stimulation of TxA2 production was not affected by an electromagnetic field, suggesting that interleukin-1 influence on thromboxane synthesis is not due to a calcium ionophore-like action.

Lipoxins increase granuloma formation induced by potassium permanganatein vivo

Recently, studies have demonstrated the biological importance of lipoxins, an additional class of arachidonic acid released from membrane phospholipids upon cell stimulation by calcium ionophore [1-2]. In previous papers it has been reported that lipoxins play an important role in inflammatory processes activating various compounds such as protein kinase C, superoxide anion and thromboxane [3 4]. In spite of this, nothing is known about the effects of lipoxins on chronic inflammation. In this study we used the experimentally induced granuloma formation by potassium permanganate (KMnO4) as a valid model to monitor chronic inflammation, and we have stud•ed the modulatory effect of lipoxin A, B and 15HETE.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor potentiates human polymorphonuclear leukocyte aggregation responses to formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are known to be activated by several lymphokines and can be induced to release lysosomal enzymes, prostaglandins (PG), thromboxanes (TX) and lipoxygenase products that may be involved in PMN aggregation responses during inflammatory reactions. Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a glycoprotein cytokine released by immunocompetent cells, has been found to prime neutrophil responses, such as increased cell aggregation after exposure to various biological stimulants. In this study, we examined the effects of the cytokine GM-CSF on human neutrophilic aggregation stimulated by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) and its influence on the production of various arachidonic acid metabolites. Neutrophil aggregation of purified PMNs was measured by the percent change in light transmission in a standard aggregometer, and the arachidonic acid products leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) were quantified by radioimmunoassay. We found that GM-CSF and other cytokines, used alone, did not cause any significant increase in aggregation of the PMN. However, prior exposure of PMN to GM-CSF markedly increased the aggregation induced by FMLP as opposed to that detected with PMN stimulated with only FMLP. This priming effect was not observed with PMN preincubated with interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or interleukin-6 (IL-6). In addition, GM-CSF and IL-6 both failed to stimulate the production of LTB4 and TXA2, products which are known to induce PMN aggregation. These findings provide new evidence suggesting that GM-CSF facilitates the action of FMLP on the adhesion dependent cellular functions of the inflammatory response, serving as an important co-factor in neutrophil aggregation.