In vitro and in vivo effect of Escherichia coli endotoxin on mitochondrial phospholipase A2 activity

Therapeutic efficacy of lysophosphatidylcholine in severe infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii

Due to the significant increase in antimicrobial resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii, immune system stimulation to block infection progression may be a therapeutic adjuvant to antimicrobial treatment. Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), a major component of phospholipids in eukaryotic cells, is involved in immune cell recruitment and modulation. The aim of this study was to show if LPC could be useful for treating infections caused by A. baumannii. A. baumannii ATCC 17978 was used in this study. Levels of serum LPC and levels of the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and IL-10 were determined by spectrophotometric assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively, using a murine peritoneal sepsis model in which mice were inoculated with 5.3 log CFU/ml of A. baumannii. The therapeutic efficacy of LPC against A. baumannii in murine peritoneal sepsis and pneumonia models was assessed for 48 h after bacterial infection. At early time points in the murine model of peritoneal sepsis caused by A. baumannii, LPC was depleted and was associated with an increase of inflammatory cytokine release. Preemptive therapy with LPC in murine peritoneal sepsis and pneumonia models markedly enhanced spleen and lung bacterial clearance and reduced the numbers of positive blood cultures and the mouse mortality rates. Moreover, treatment with LPC reduced proinflammatory cytokine production. These data demonstrate that LPC is efficacious as a preemptive treatment in experimental models of peritoneal sepsis and pneumonia caused by A. baumannii.

Phospholipase A2 functions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced apoptosis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a gram-negative, facultative pathogen, causes severe and often even lethal infections in immunocompromised patients, as well as cystic fibrosis patients. We show here that a variety of P. aeruginosa strains activate phospholipase A2 (PLA2), cultured epithelial cells, and fibroblasts, resulting in increased intracellular and extracellular arachidonic acid release. The use of different PLA2 inhibitors revealed that P. aeruginosa-induced arachidonic acid release is mediated by activation of cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2), whereas iPLA2 or sPLA2 do not seem to be involved in the response to P. aeruginosa. Likewise, the cPLA2-specific inhibitors MAFP and AACOCF3 prevented apoptosis of cultured epithelial cells upon P. aeruginosa infection, whereas inhibitors specific for iPLA2 or sPLA2 were without effect. The physiological significance of these findings is indicated by an inhibition of apoptosis in tracheal epithelial cells upon in vivo infection with P. aeruginosa. The data indicate that arachidonic acid generation by activation of cPLA2 during P. aeruginosa infection plays an important role in the induction of host cell death.

Increased prostaglandin I2 and thromboxane A2 production by rat dental pulp after intravenous administration of endotoxin

The effect of systemic endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli 0111:B4) on prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) production by rat dental pulp was investigated. Intravenous injection of endotoxin increased ex vivo production of both PGI2 and TXA2 by the pulp tissue, when determined by radioimmunoassay. A significant effect on PGI2 and TXA2 production was observed with endotoxin doses of greater than 2 and 0.4 mg/kg, respectively. A significant increase was also observed at 30 min after injection of 10 mg/kg endotoxin, reaching a maximum after 60 min for both PG and TX production. Endotoxin (10 mg/kg for 60 min) also increased TXA2 but not PGI2 production in lung tissue, but had no effect in jejunal tissue. Indomethacin (10 microM) completely inhibited PGI2 and TXA2 production by the pulp of physiological saline- and endotoxin-treated rats. Further, arachidonic acids (10 microM) significantly increased PG and TX production by the pulp of saline- but not of endotoxin-treated rats. Endotoxin (100 micrograms/ml) had no in vitro effect on PG or TX production when incubated with isolated pulp, lung and jejunal tissues, suggesting that the endotoxin-induced increases in PG and TX production are an indirect effect. The endotoxin-induced increase in TXA2 production, but not in PGI2 production, by the pulp tissue was significantly suppressed by WEB 2170, a platelet-activating factor (PAF) antagonist. These results indicate that arachidonate metabolism in pulp tissue is susceptible to endotoxaemia in comparison with the lung and jejunum, and further suggest that the endotoxin-induced increase in, at least, TXA2 production by the pulp is mediated by PAF.

Binding studies and localization of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide in cultured hepatocytes by an immunocolloidal-gold technique

In this study, the uptake and localization of an Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, and the temperature effects on these processes, were studied in rat cultured hepatocytes using a binding assay and an immunocolloidal gold technique. The lipopolysaccharide was found to bind to the cell membrane and microvilli after short incubation times, at both 4 degrees C and 37 degrees C. This was followed by a dispersed localization into the cytoplasm, reaching mitochondria. The uptake was found not to be receptor-mediated. A decrease of temperature, delays, but does not prevent, the lipopolysaccharide internalization.

Induction of group II-like phospholipase A2 by lipopolysaccharide in the liver of BCG-primed rat

The specific activity of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in the liver homogenate was elevated 1.7-fold in bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-treated rats, 1.6-fold in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated rats, and 2.4-fold in BCG-infected rats treated with LPS, compared with that of control rats. These increased activities were almost completely inhibited by the antibody directed against rat splenic group II PLA2 (PLA2M) but not by anti-pancreatic PLA2 antibody. The results of immunoblot analysis confirmed that the PLA2 immunochemically related to the group II enzyme was induced by treatment with BCG and/or LPS. The anti-PLA2M antibody-inhibitable PLA2 activity per a single cell was elevated not only in nonparenchymal cell fraction but also in hepatocyte fraction, as in the case of whole liver. On the contrary, the PLA2 concentration and its specific activity did not change by the same treatment both in spleen homogenate and in isolated spleen cell fractions although a 3-fold increase in spleen mass occurred by BCG treatment. These results suggested that a tissue-specific mechanism of the PLA2 induction by these inflammatory mediators may operate in liver.

Metabolic fate of arachidonic acid in hepatocytes of continuously endotoxemic rats

The present experiments were designed to characterize the kinetics of [1-14C]arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism as a function of time in hepatocytes obtained from rats infused continuously for 30 h with a nonlethal dose of Escherichia coli endotoxin (ET). Chronic endotoxemia greatly reduces the ability of hepatocytes to utilize [1-14C]AA, which is reflected from the earliest times of incubation in very low labeling of intermediates in the biosynthetic pathways of glycerolipids (phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol) and slower removal of [1-14C]AA from the free fatty acid pool as compared with saline-infused rats. At later times of incubation, the labeling of phospholipids (especially phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol [PI]), but not of triacylglycerides is decreased. Analysis of fatty acid composition of individual phospholipids from cells of ET-infused rats reveals that the content of AA is significantly reduced only in PI. Hence an impairment in activation/acylation enzymatic mechanisms could affect the turnover of metabolically active phospholipid pools, i.e., PI, involved in signal transmission processes, and result in increased availability of 20:4 for eicosanoid synthesis, contributing to cellular metabolic perturbations in endotoxicosis.

Effect of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide on the microviscosity of liver plasma membranes and hepatocyte suspensions and monolayers

The fluorescence probe 1,6-diphenylhexa-1,3,5-triene (DPH) was used for monitoring structural perturbations induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Escherichia coli (0111:B4) in plasma membranes of rat liver. Changes in microviscosity were observed in plasma membrane preparations from control rats after treatment with LPS and in plasma membrane preparations from liver perfused with LPS. In both systems fluorescence polarization was measured from which microviscosity was calculated. This parameter increases with LPS treatment. From temperature dependence studies was inferred that LPS interaction with plasma membrane preparations induces an increase of both the polarization term (r0/r-1)-1 and flow activation energy (delta E). Addition of LPS to hepatocyte suspensions also induces an increase on microviscosity and a delay in the fall of microviscosity induced by a temperature rise in hepatocyte monolayers grown on microcover slides. These data suggest that LPS interaction can be attributed to its binding to membrane hydrophobic regions in a non-specific manner.

Influence of E. coli endotoxin on ACTH induced adrenal cell steroidogenesis

The effect of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide from E. coli) on isolated adrenocortical cells was examined. Lipopolysaccharide decreased the ACTH-induced steroidogenesis. This effect was shown by all corticotropin concentrations studied, and the longer the incubation time, the higher the effect produced. The rate of decrease of ACTH-induced steroidogenesis was dependent on the concentration of lipopolysaccharide in the medium. Binding of [125I]ACTH to adrenocortical cells was modified by lipopolysaccharide; this modification was related to a decrease of the ACTH-induced steroidogenesis. This effect supports the hypothesis of a direct interaction between lipopolysaccharide and the cell membrane with a concomitant distortion of the cell surface affecting the ACTH receptor sites of their environment. [14C]Lipopolysaccharide binds to isolated adrenocortical cells. Binding specificity was investigated by competitive experiments in the presence of various types of endotoxins, polypeptide hormones and proteins. Unlabelled lipopolysaccharide from the same bacterial strain and isolated under identical conditions than the labelled lipopolysaccharide exerted the strongest inhibitory activity. Unlabelled lipopolysaccharide of various strains different from that originating the labelled lipopolysaccharide exerted the less displacement. It would imply a certain kind of specificity but the decrease in the binding of lipopolysaccharide produced by ACTH and glucagon suggests the existence of non-specific interactions between lipopolysaccharide and cell membrane.

Hydrolytic activities of human pancreatic phospholipase A2 and endotoxin-stimulated endogenous phospholipase A2 toward membrane phospholipids of erythrocytes

The problem of whether human pancreatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) can really hydrolyze membrane phospholipids in vitro was studied to understand pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis. Total amount of lysophospholipids generated in erythrocytes by exogenously added human pancreatic PLA2 (2 micrograms/ml) was only 12% of the amount of sphingomyelin, which was not decomposed by the enzyme. About fivefold the amount of lysophospholipids was generated in ghost membranes during one-sixth of the incubation time compared to that in intact erythrocyte membranes. Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (10 micrograms/ml) was able to stimulate membrane-associated PLA2 of erythrocytes, the amount of lysophospholipids generated being 12.5% of that of sphingomyelin without adding the exogenous PLA2. The stimulation of membrane-associated PLA2 in erythrocytes was inhibited by pretreatment of lipopolysaccharide with polymyxin-B sulfate. When intact erythrocytes were incubated with human pancreatic PLA2 and LPS, the amount of generated lysophospholipids was 24% of that of sphingomyelin. These results suggested that the exogenously added human pancreatic PLA2 cannot degrade phospholipids of intact erythrocytes so extensively under physiological conditions, and, in acute pancreatitis, unknown factors may be involved in the hydrolysis of phospholipids. LPS, which activates membrane-associated PLA2, may be one of the factors, and thus membrane phospholipids are hydrolyzed in the disease.

Enhanced phospholipase A2 activity in rat plasma, liver, and intestinal mucosa following endotoxin treatment: a possible explanation for the protective effect of indomethacin in endotoxic shock

Endotoxin administration in rats produced a significant increase in plasma, hepatic, and intestinal phospholipase A2 activity within three minutes after injection. The elevated phospholipase A2 activity seen in these tissues returned to normal levels six minutes after injection. The changes in phospholipase A2 activity were dose-dependent within the 0, 10, and 20 mg/kg range of treatment with Escherichia coli endotoxin. This increase in plasma, hepatic, and intestinal phospholipase A2 was abolished by prior treatment of the rats with 3 mg/kg indomethacin, a drug known to improve survival in endotoxic shock. The fact that the change in phospholipase A2 occurs soon after endotoxin administration and that the change in phospholipase is blocked by protective doses of indomethacin suggests that phospholipase A2 activation may be an important initial event in the lethal action of endotoxin, and that the protective effects of indomethacin may be directly related to inhibition of phospholipase A2 activity. Further, in vitro studies of the effects of indomethacin on hepatic phospholipase A2 activity showed that indomethacin significantly inhibited this enzyme. Indomethacin (25 mumol/L) produced 56% inhibition in phospholipase A2 activity and the apparent Ki for indomethacin was 9.2 mumol/L. Kinetic analysis using the Lineweaver-Burk method showed that the indomethacin inhibition was of the noncompetitive type.

Mechanism of endotoxin-induced reduction in the number of beta-adrenergic receptors in dog livers: role of phospholipase A

The role of phospholipase A on the endotoxin-induced reduction in the number of beta-adrenergic receptors in dog liver plasma membranes was investigated. The results show that digestion of control liver plasma membranes with exogenous phospholipase A2 (0.2 unit/200 micrograms protein) decreased the specific binding of (-)-[3H]dihydroalprenolol by 37.3% (P less than 0.01) and reduced the number of receptor sites by 31.7% (P less than 0.05). These decreases in the specific binding and the number of beta-adrenergic receptors were completely reversible by the addition of phosphatidylcholine (0.2 mM). Endotoxin administration (2 hr postendotoxin) decreased the specific binding by 36% (P less than 0.05) and reduced the number of beta-adrenergic receptors by 33% (P less than 0.05), and these decreases were completely reversible by the addition of 0.2 mM phosphatidylcholine. Digestion of control liver membranes with exogenous phospholipase A2 decreased phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine levels by 50.6 and 51.2%, respectively, but increased lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine levels by 12- and 8.4-fold, respectively. Endotoxin administration decreased phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine contents by 21.4 and 23.8%, respectively, but increased lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine contents by 2.1- and 1.4-fold, respectively. In addition, endotoxin administration increased endogenous phospholipase A activity by 73.5%. Based on these results, it is suggested that the decreases in the specific binding and the number of beta-adrenergic receptors in dog livers during endotoxic shock are a result of phospholipase A activation.

Change in membrane lipid fluidity induced by phospholipase A activation: a mechanism of endotoxic shock

The effects of endotoxin administration on the fluidity of dog liver plasma membranes and their relationship with changes in phospholipase A2 activity were studied. Endotoxin administration decreased the fluidity of liver plasma membranes and this decrease was reversible by phosphatidylcholine. The endotoxin-induced decrease in membrane fluidity could be mimicked by digesting control liver membranes with exogenous phospholipase A2. Endotoxin administration also increased the endogenous phospholipase A2 activity. Endotoxin in vitro had no phospholipase A2-like activity but it activated the hydrolytic activity of exogenous phospholipase A2. Based on these data, it is concluded that endotoxin administration decreased the fluidity of canine liver plasma membranes by acting through activation of phospholipase A2. The decrease in membrane lipid fluidity induced by endotoxin administration may play a significant role in the development of the pathophysiology of endotoxic shock at the cellular level.