Effect of dexamethasone on polypeptides synthesised in polymorphonuclear leucocytes

Role of glucocorticoids in neutrophil and endothelial adhesion molecule expression and function

Glucocorticoids are very effective inhibitors of both the acute and chronic inflammatory response. In this study the hypothesis that glucocorticoids inhibit an early component of the inflammatory response, neutrophil adhesion to endothelium, by down-regulation of adhesion molecules on neutrophils or endothelium was examined. No effect of dexamethasone on neutrophil adhesion to endothelium or of antigen expression by neutrophils or endothelium was found. The mechanism of action of glucocorticoids in the inflammatory response is probably not mediated by alterations in adhesion molecules.

Some biochemical responses of buffalo PMN cells to various stimuli

In view of great species differences in biology of polymorphonuclear cells, and non-availability of basic data on buffalo PMN cells for assessing their functional activity, the present work on the immuno-defence system involving protein synthesis and O2- production was undertaken to highlight the immunomodulatory role of thyroxine. Digitonin, LPS and Con-A activation generated superoxide, which was monitored by NBT reduction. The study suggested that concanvalin A (Con-A) and T4 were able to synergetically increase the production of superoxide and H2O2. The likely involvement of thyroxine in activation was studied by [125I]thyroxine incorporation, which was significantly increased due to activation. In contrast, aflatoxin B1 together with Con-A caused a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in incorporation of [125I]T4. Optimum time dependence in [14C]leucine incorporation by buffalo PMN cells was found to be 30 min and the factors like T4 (7.7 ng/ml) and glutathione (400 micrograms/ml) significantly enhanced the incorporation. In contrast, antiinflammatory agent, indomethacin (40 micrograms/ml) inhibited protein synthesis in PMN cells; while puramycin also significantly lowered the [14C]leucine incorporation. Total [14C]leucine incorporation in acid extractable cationic proteins and peptides, known for their antibacterial properties was found to be 30-40% when separated on AU-PAGE. The studies revealed the in vitro immunomodulatory role of T4 in O2-, H2O2 production and cationic protein synthesis by the activated PMN cells of buffalos.

Prevention of corticosteroid-induced suppression of human polymorphonuclear leukocyte-induced damage of Aspergillus fumigatus hyphae by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and gamma interferon

Neutrophils (PMNs) are a critical line of defense against Aspergillus fumigatus infection. Increased frequency of invasive aspergillosis has been observed in patients receiving corticosteroids, suggesting a deleterious effect of these compounds on PMN antifungal function. To investigate this hypothesis and to determine the potential preventive utility of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), the effects of hydrocortisone (HCS) and dexamethasone (DXS) on PMN-induced damage of Aspergillus fumigatus hyphae were studied with or without pretreatment of PMNs with G-CSF and IFN-gamma. PMNs treated with HCS (> or = 3,000 microM) or DXS (> or = 10 microM) during a 2-h colorimetric tetrazolium metabolic assay (using methylthiotetrazolium) showed suppressed percentage of hyphal damage (P < 0.02). In addition, both HCS (> or = 30 microM) and DXS (> or = 1 microM) significantly suppressed oxidative burst measured as superoxide anion release by PMNs in response to opsonized and nonopsonized hyphae as well as to N-formylmethionyl leucyl phenylalanine. Pretreatment of PMNs with G-CSF (4,000 U/ml) and/or IFN-gamma (100 and 1,000 U/ml) for 90 min prevented the suppression of hyphal damage that occurred in the presence of HCS (3,000 microM; P < 0.01) or DXS (10 microM; P < or = 0.001). G-CSF (4,000 U/ml) and IFN-gamma (100 U/ml) combined had an additive effect on increasing the antifungal activity of HCS-treated but not of DXS-treated PMNs compared with IFN-gamma alone (P = 0.015). Thus, these findings reveal that corticosteroids impair PMN function in response to A. fumigatus and that G-CSF and IFN-gamma prevent this impairment.

Stimulation of protein synthesis in human neutrophils by gamma-interferon

Treatment of human, peripheral blood neutrophils with gamma-interferon both "primed" their ability to generate reactive oxidants and increased their rate of protein synthesis. This increased rate of protein synthesis was greatest 60 min after the addition of 100 U/ml gamma-interferon and was not due to an increased intracellular pool of radiolabelled amino acid. Analysis of the newly-synthesized polypeptides by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) revealed two classes of proteins which were regulated by this agent. The first of these represented proteins whose rate of labelling increased very little (1-2-fold) whereas the rate of biosynthesis of a second group of proteins increased more markedly (10-20-fold). We propose that these newly-synthesized, gamma-interferon regulated proteins play an important role in the function of these cells during an acute inflammatory response.

Protein synthesis is activated in primed neutrophils: a possible role in inflammation

Circulating human neutrophils exhibited low rates of protein biosynthesis, as determined by their ability to incorporate [35S]methionine into TCA-precipitable material. Exposure of cells to the chemotactic peptide (N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine) increased their rate of protein synthesis, and the maximal stimulation of biosynthesis by this inflammatory agent was observed at 0.1 microM: this concentration of chemotactic peptide "primed" neutrophil activity and only activated the oxidase of these cells by 8% of maximum. The newly-synthesized proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and compared with those synthesized in control cells. Two classes of proteins were observed in "primed" cells. The first of these comprised proteins whose rate of biosynthesis changed very little upon "priming" whereas the second class comprised proteins whose rate of synthesis increased greatly after exposure to chemotactic peptide. The fMet-Leu-Phe stimulated protein synthesis was inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide showing that this phenomenon required both transcription and translation. We propose that these fMet-Leu-Phe regulated proteins play an important role in the function of neutrophils during an inflammatory response.

Activation of bovine neutrophils by recombinant interferon-gamma

The effect of recombinant bovine interferon-gamma (r-IFN-gamma) on neutrophil functions was investigated and compared to the effects of an unpurified lymphokine preparation. Incubation of purified bovine neutrophils with r-IFN-gamma or antigen-induced lymphokine for 2.5 hr at 37 degrees C resulted in impairment of the ability of neutrophils to migrate under agarose, and an enhancement of their ability to mediate antibody-dependent and antibody-independent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against chicken erythrocytes. Neither the lymphokine preparation nor the r-IFN-gamma had any influence on Staphylococcus aureus ingestion, or iodination by neutrophils. The lymphokine preparation enhanced cytochrome c reduction by neutrophils and was weakly chemotactic, whereas the r-IFN-gamma had neither of these effects. Only 5 min of r-IFN-gamma preincubation with neutrophils were needed to trigger protein synthesis by the neutrophils resulting in inhibition of random migration. Therefore, recombinant interferon-gamma acts as a neutrophil migration inhibition factor and a neutrophil activation factor resulting in enhanced neutrophil-mediated antibody-dependent and -independent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Many, but not all, of the in vitro effects of an unpurified lymphokine preparation on neutrophil function can be attributed to the interferon-gamma contained in the lymphokine.