Solid-phase immunoassay of dog neutrophil elastase

A baboon model for hematologic studies of cardiopulmonary bypass

Objective investigation of new inhibitors of blood protein or cellular systems that are activated during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is impeded by the absence of a satisfactory animal model. Because most baboon hematologic proteins immunologically cross-react with those used for human assays, we developed a robust, reusable baboon model of CPB. Blood samples were obtained from adult baboons at six time intervals before, during, and after 60 minutes of partial CPB at 37 degrees C with peripheral cannulas. Both membrane (n = 7) and bubble oxygenators (n = 7) were investigated. We measured platelet and white blood cell counts; platelet response to adenosine diphosphate and release of beta-thromboglobulin; fibrinopeptide A, prothrombin fragment F1.2, thrombin-antithrombin complex, D-dimer, and plasmin-antiplasmin complex; activated complement (C3b/c and C4b/c); elastase-alpha1 proteinase inhibitor complex; and bleeding times. Adherent glycoprotein IIIa antigen in Triton X-100 washes of the perfusion circuit was also measured. Markers of baboon platelet, complement, and neutrophil activation and thrombosis significantly increased during CPB with bubble oxygenator systems but did not change appreciably in membrane oxygenator circuits. Markers of fibrinolysis, D-dimer, and plasmin-antiplasmin complex did not change with either oxygenator. The baboon model of CPB, when a bubble oxygenator is used, is a robust, reusable animal model for evaluating inhibitors of platelet, complement, and neutrophil activation and thrombosis during and after CPB.

Immunoelectron-microscopic demonstration of elastase in emphysematous lungs of tight-skin mice

The tight-skin (Tsk) mouse has recently been proposed as a genetic model of emphysema. A morphometric study has shown that emphysema develops quickly, between 15 days and 1 month after birth. Previous biochemical and ultrastructural investigations of the lungs of 1- and 2-month-old Tsk mice revealed the presence of an ongoing elastolytic process. The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of mouse leukocyte elastase (MLE) in the development of emphysema in 1-month-old Tsk mice. Using electron microscopy and an immunogold labeling technique with rabbit anti-MLE IgG, MLE was localized within the lung neutrophils of control and Tsk mice. MLE was also found associated with elastin in the alveolar septa of Tsk but not of control mice. Little or no labeling was associated with other components (collagen, pneumocytes, and endothelium) of alveolar septa of Tsk mice. Lung elastin of control mice, or of control mice rendered emphysematous with porcine pancreatic elastase, showed negligible gold particle density when incubated with gold-conjugated rabbit IgG. Thus, under the present experimental conditions, an aspecific labeling of elastin is unlikely. This study indicates that MLE may be one of the factors responsible for the rapid development of emphysema in Tsk mice.

Human neutrophils contain and bind high molecular weight kininogen

Because plasma kallikrein activates human neutrophils, and in plasma prekallikrein (PK) circulates complexed with high molecular weight kininogen (HMWK), we determined whether HMWK could mediate kallikrein's association with neutrophils. HMWK antigen (237 +/- 61 ng HMWK/10(8) neutrophils) was present in lysates of washed human neutrophils. Little if any plasma HMWK was tightly bound and nonexchangeable with the neutrophil surface. Human neutrophils were found to possess surface membrane-binding sites for HMWK but no internalization was detected at 37 degrees C. 125I-HMWK binding to neutrophils was dependent upon Zn2+. Binding of 125I-HMWK to neutrophils was specific and 90% reversible. 125I-HMWK binding to neutrophils was saturable with an apparent Kd of 9-18 nM and 40,000-70,000 sites per cell. Upon binding to neutrophils, 125I-HMWK was proteolyzed by human neutrophil elastase (HNE) into lower relative molecular mass derivatives. Furthermore, HMWK found in neutrophils also served as a cofactor for HNE secretion because neutrophils deficient in HMWK have reduced HNE secretion when stimulated in plasma deficient in HMWK or with purified kallikrein. These studies indicate that human neutrophils contain a binding site for HMWK that could serve to localize plasma or neutrophil HMWK on their surface to possibly serve as a receptor for kallikrein and to participate in HNE secretion by this enzyme.

Acute cigarette smoke exposure in dogs: the inflammatory response

Acute cigarette smoke causes polymorphonuclear leukocyte (neutrophil, PMN) recruitment to the lung followed by loss of elastase from the recruited cells. Dogs were exposed to cigarette smoke with different oxidant content, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed, and the cell distribution in the recovered alveolar lining fluid was analyzed. Exposures were 1, 3, or 6 cigarettes on one or multiple days with a maximum dose of 42 cigarettes. The mean percent PMN present in control lavage was 2.01%, while the mean percent PMN recovered in BAL after a dose of 42 1R1 cigarettes was 13.05%. Recoverable PMN, after a single exposure to three 1R1 cigarettes, also increased from 1.7 to 10.4% by 15 h after cessation of smoke exposure. The cell response for multiple (2 and 7) day exposures was similar. The elastase content per BAL neutrophil decreased relative to peripheral blood PMN from the same animals. No free elastolytic activity was found in BAL, but PMN elastase antigen was present. Increased frequency of cigarette smoke exposure delayed the return to homeostatic cell conditions. The increased PMN accumulation observed may result in an increased proteolytic load in the pulmonary interstitium and contribute to the pathogenesis of emphysema.

Immunolocalization of elastase in human emphysematous lungs

The current working hypothesis concerning the pathogenesis of human pulmonary emphysema proposes that neutrophils migrate through the alveolar interstitium and degranulate, releasing proteolytic enzymes into the interstitium. These enzymes, in particular elastase, can bind to and degrade interstitial elastin. This report describes an immunohistochemical, ultrastructural technique that utilizes polyclonal antibodies to localize neutrophil elastase in human lungs. Using both the immunoperoxidase and the immunogold methods on thin, embedded sections of surgically resected human emphysematous lung tissue, elastase was localized in neutrophils in the lung interstitium and extracellularly in association with interstitial elastic fibers in human lungs that showed local emphysema of varying severity. Quantitative morphometric data were obtained from the lungs of eight patients undergoing lobectomy for removal of pulmonary carcinomas. Patients had preoperative forced expiratory volume (FEV1)% levels ranging from 55 to 77. There was a correlation between a quantitative measure of the local distribution of neutrophil elastase in contact with alveolar interstitial elastin and the local presence of emphysematous change as determined by mean linear intercept of the various histologic sections. These data support the validity of the "protease-protease inhibitor balance hypothesis" as an explanation of the pathogenesis of human pulmonary emphysema.

Solid-phase radioimmunoassay for human neutrophil elastase: a sensitive method for determining secreted and cell-associated enzyme

A solid-phase radioimmunoassay for measuring neutrophil elastase in the range 0.08-4 ng/ml has been developed. A monospecific, precipitating antibody capable of inhibiting elastinolysis was produced by repeated immunizations of a goat. The IgG fraction and affinity-purified antibodies of this serum were then obtained and used to develop this radioimmunoassay. There was no cross-reactivity in binding of the radiolabeled antisera with lactoferrin, cathepsin G, or serine proteinases with amino-terminal amino acid sequence homology. Although serum influences the measurement of catalytically active neutrophil elastase when compared to diisopropylfluorophosphate-treated neutrophil elastase, antigenic elastase may still be measured in body fluids. Furthermore, this assay is more sensitive than commercially available substrates used for quantitating neutrophil elastase by functional activity. We have found this quantitative assay extremely useful in balance studies to measure secreted and cell-associated elastase and in screening of biological fluids for the presence of the enzyme.

Enzyme-linked immunoassay for human granulocyte elastase in complex with alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor

Granulocyte elastase in complex with its main inhibitor in plasma, i.e. alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor, was quantitatively determined by incubating the sample with solid-phase fixed antibodies against elastase first and reacting then with alkaline phosphatase-labelled antibodies against alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor. In normal plasma a level of 97.5 +/- 25.8 micrograms elastase/1 (mean +/- s.d., n = 43) was found, whereas moderately to markedly increased plasma concentrations were demonstrated in a variety of patients with inflammatory diseases like septicemia or rheumatoid arthritis.

Human plasma kallikrein releases neutrophil elastase during blood coagulation

Elastase is released from human neutrophils during the early events of blood coagulation. Human plasma kallikrein has been shown to stimulate neutrophil chemotaxis, aggregation, and oxygen consumption. Therefore, the ability of kallikrein to release neutrophil elastase was investigated. Neutrophils were isolated by dextran sedimentation, and elastase release was measured by both an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and an enzymatic assay using t-butoxy-carbonyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Val-amino methyl coumarin as the substrate. Kallikrein, 0.1-1.0 U/ml, (0.045-0.45 microM), was incubated with neutrophils that were preincubated with cytochalasin B (5 micrograms/ml). The release of elastase was found to be proportional to the kallikrein concentration. Kallikrein released a maximum of 34% of the total elastase content, as measured by solubilizing the neutrophils in the nonionic detergent Triton X-100. A series of experiments was carried out to determine if kallikrein was a major enzyme involved in neutrophil elastase release during blood coagulation. When 10 million neutrophils were incubated in 1 ml of normal plasma in the presence of 30 mM CaCl2 for 90 min, 2.75 micrograms of elastase was released. In contrast, neutrophils incubated in prekallikrein-deficient or Factor XII-deficient plasma released less than half of the elastase, as compared with normal plasma. The addition of purified prekallikrein to prekallikrein-deficient plasma restored neutrophil elastase release to normal levels. Moreover, release of elastase was enhanced in plasma deficient in C1-inhibitor, the major plasma inhibitor of kallikrein. This release was not dependent upon further steps in the coagulation pathway, or on C5a, since levels of elastase, released in Factor XI- or C5-deficient plasma, were similar to that in normal plasma, and an antibody to C5 failed to inhibit elastase release. These data suggest that kallikrein may be a major enzyme responsible for the release of elastase during blood coagulation.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detergent solubilized Ia glycoproteins using nitrocellulose membrane discs

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been developed for the quantitative detection of detergent solubilized murine Ia. Nitrocellulose membrane discs were used to bind membrane glycoproteins applied in solutions containing detergent. The bound antigen was detected by monoclonal antibodies and horseradish-peroxidase-coupled anti-IgG. The assay produced a linear response with respect to antigen concentration, and could readily detect partially purified Ia derived from 10(3) to 10(4) mitogen stimulated spleen cells. Nitrocellulose discs efficiently bound protein in the presence of deoxycholate, taurocholate, and octylglucoside. Less binding occurred in the presence of Triton X-100 or Tween 80, but 90% binding efficiency was obtained in 0.01% solutions of these detergents. The association of protein with the discs was stable under normal conditions for antigen detection, but could be further stabilized by briefly fixing with glutaraldehyde for more rigorous procedures. The ability of this method to detect antigen in detergent solutions makes it useful in monitoring fractions during the purification of cell membrane proteins.