Studies on the mechanism of metabolic stimulation in polymorphonuclear leucocytes during phagocytosis. I. Evidence for superoxide anion involvement in the oxidation of NADPH2

Prevalence of inherited myeloperoxidase deficiency in Japan

The microbicidal activity of the myeloperoxidase (MPO)-hydrogen peroxide-halide system has been implicated as the most efficient, oxygen-dependent antimicrobial component of neutrophil host defense. Unexpectedly, individuals with MPO deficiency suffer few clinical consequences. In order to understand better the clinical impact of MPO deficiency, we surveyed several clinical hematology laboratories in Japan to assess the prevalence of MPO deficiency in the general population. MPO activity was determined by flow cytometry using the Technicon H series of automated systems. We identified 26 cases of complete MPO deficiency, prevalence 1 in 57,135, and 129 cases of partial deficiency, prevalence 1 in 17,501. The distribution of complete and partial deficiencies differed among the laboratories studied.

In situ detection of spontaneous superoxide anion and singlet oxygen production by mitochondria in rat liver and small intestine

In the present study, the endogenous formation of reactive oxygen species was localized in rat liver and small intestine. The 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB)-Mn2+ technique in which cobalt ions were included in the incubation medium was applied to unfixed cryostat sections of intact tissues. Addition of manganese ions to the DAB-Co(2+)-containing medium greatly increased the amounts of final reaction product formed compared with incubations with only DAB and cobalt ions. In liver, a blue final reaction product was deposited, particularly in hepatocytes surrounding portal tracts. In the small intestine, the DAB-cobalt complex was mainly found at the basal side of enterocytes. Goblet cells remained unstained. Electron microscopical images revealed that an electron-dense reaction product was exclusively present at both inner and outer membranes and at the intermembrane space in mitochondria of liver parenchymal cells and duodenal enterocytes. It was shown that the spontaneous formation of final reaction product was enzymatic and dependent on the presence of oxygen in the medium. Sulphide decreased the reaction, which may indicate that cytochrome c oxidase was partially involved. Benzoquinone and histidine, which are scavengers of superoxide anions and singlet oxygen respectively, reduced the amount of final reaction product considerably. Furthermore, the formation of final reaction product was sensitive to specific inhibitors of NADH:coenzyme Q reductase and aldehyde oxidase, indicating that these enzymes were at least partly responsible for the generation of superoxide anions and singlet oxygen and for the formation of the DAB-cobalt complex.

Manganese stimulates the oxidative burst of differentiated HL-60 cells

Incubation with manganese results in a twofold increase in the oxidative burst of differentiated HL-60 cells. This stimulation was characterized by examining the dose response, length of incubation time, and specificity of manganese. Manganese only stimulated the burst in cells induced to differentiated with retinoic acid and not in undifferentiated HL-60 cells. Incubation with manganese did not result in a greater number of differentiated cells. The maximum stimulation occurred at 0.2 mumol/L manganese. Stimulation of the oxidative burst required 96 h of incubation with manganese, since cells incubated with the same levels of manganese for the last 24 h of culture did not result in any stimulation. Magnesium, present in the incubation medium at physiological serum levels (820 mumol/L) also stimulated the oxidative burst, whereas iron (0.3 mumol/L), zinc (18 mumol/L), and copper (12 mumol/L) had no effect. To determine whether manganese and magnesium stimulated the burst differently, the initial rates of superoxide anion production was determined. The initial rate of the reaction proceeded rapidly in cells incubated with manganese, whereas there appeared to be a lag before magnesium-treated cells produced superoxide anion. Thus, manganese seems to stimulate the oxidative burst differently than magnesium.

Robert Feulgen Lecture 1994. Cytochemistry and reactive oxygen species: a retrospective

This retrospective reviews the methodology we have developed over several decades for detecting reactive oxygen species (ROS), using the activated polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) as the paradigm of a cell which vigorously generates ROS through activation of NADPH oxidase. In the seventies, the sites of ROS generation by PMN were not clear from biochemical data, and we sought to develop new methods for the cytochemical localization of O2.-, H2O2, and the H2O2-myeloperoxidase (MPO)-halide system. The H2O2-MPO-halide system in phagocytosing cells was localized at the fine structural level by our development of 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) as a cytochemical probe for detecting peroxidase activities. Using DAB and exogenous H2O2, we confirmed that azurophil granules discharged MPO into the phagosome, and using particles coated with DAB and relying on endogenous H2O2 to yield oxidized DAB, H2O2 was localized to phagolysosomes. The subcellular sites of H2O2 generation were shown using cerium ions which react with H2O2 and precipitate electron opaque cerium perhydroxides (Ce(OH)2OOH and Ce(OH)3OOH). The results suggested that NADPH oxidase is associated with the plasma lemma, and that the enzyme enters the phagosome along with the invaginating plasmalemma, accounting for the presence of H2O2 in the phagosome. As O2.- is the major product of NADPH oxidase, its detection was of some importance. Based on the concept that O2.- oxidizes Mn2+ to Mn3+, and Mn3+ oxidizes DAB, a medium containing DAB-Mn2+ was used to localize sites of O2.- production in stimulated PMN. The localizations were, as expected, similar to those for H2O2. These techniques have been of considerable usefulness and in general provide the foundation for cytochemistry of ROS in other systems.

NADPH-oxidase expression and in situ production of superoxide by osteoclasts actively resorbing bone

Recent reports have suggested that production of superoxide or other reactive oxygen species by activated osteoclasts may play a role in the complex process of bone resorption; however, the enzyme responsible for production of superoxide by osteoclasts has not been characterized. To determine if osteoclasts express NADPH-oxidase, a superoxide-generating enzyme found in phagocytic leukocytes, immunohistochemical studies were performed on tibia from 1-5-d-old rats using mAbs 449 and 48 and an antiserum specific for p47-phox. These antibodies recognize epitopes on the alpha and beta subunits of cytochrome b558, respectively, and the p47 cytosolic component of NADPH-oxidase. We found that osteoclasts attached to bone surfaces in tibia expressed all three components, as did mature polymorphonuclear and some mononuclear leukocytes in the bone marrow. In many adherent osteoclasts, the cytochrome b558 subunits were localized to the ruffled-border and bone interfaces. Studies were also performed on mature rat tibia that had undergone controlled fracture. By two weeks the healing fractures develop a callus rich in actively resorbing osteoclasts. Osteoclasts within the calluses, and attached to bone surface, also expressed the cytochrome b558 proteins. In addition to demonstrating the expression of NADPH-oxidase, the active production of superoxide by osteoclasts was also demonstrated in situ in freshly isolated tibia using 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB)-Mn2+, a histochemical method specific for superoxide localization. Osteoclasts attached to bone surfaces contained deposits of oxidized DAB which were observed by light microscopy. Nonstimulated polymorphonuclear and mononuclear leukocytes in the bone marrow did not contain DAB deposits unless stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate, a known activator of NADPH-oxidase. These findings indicate that osteoclasts contain NADPH-oxidase, and during the process of resorbing bone, are actively producing superoxide.

Fumarase C, the stable fumarase of Escherichia coli, is controlled by the soxRS regulon

Fumarase C was strongly induced by paraquat in a parental strain of Escherichia coli but was not induced in a strain lacking the soxRS response. Moreover, a strain that constitutively expresses the soxRS regulon contained more fumarase C than did the parental strain. The Mn-containing superoxide dismutase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, members of the soxRS regulon, were similarly induced by paraquat. Mutational defects in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase increased the induction of fumarase C by paraquat. For Mn-containing superoxide dismutase, responsiveness to paraquat was also enhanced in the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-defective strains. Overproduction of the Mn-containing superoxide dismutase, elicited by isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactoside in a tac-sodA fusion strain, did not diminish induction of fumarase C or of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by paraquat, and induction of these enzymes was more sensitive to paraquat when the cells were growing on succinate rather than on LB medium. These results indicate that fumarase C is a member of the soxRS regulon and that this regulon does not respond to changes in O2- concentration but perhaps does respond to some consequence of a decrease in the ratio of NADPH to NADP+.

Chronic granulomatous disease of childhood: clinical, pathological, biochemical, molecular, and genetic aspects of the disease

The pathobiology of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) of childhood, a heterogeneous phenotypic disorder characterized by chronic and recurrent infection, has become more completely understood over the past three decades. Blood neutrophils, monocytes, and eosinophils lack a respiratory burst required for effective killing of catalase positive bacteria by reduced by-products of oxygen. The disease is transmitted in at least two genetic forms: X-linked and autosomal recessive. In the X-linked form, a gene coding for a beta subunit protein required for cytochrome b presence on the plasma membrane of phagocytic cells is not expressed. The protein appears to be a constituent of the cytochrome b complex that requires an additional alpha subunit for complete expression. Cytochrome b is likely a component of leukocyte oxidase, which catalyzes the respiratory burst. The autosomal recessive form of the disorder appears to be controlled by a set of genes coding for soluble cofactors essential for oxidase expression. One or more of these cofactors have recently been shown to be deficient in several patients with autosomal recessive CGD. Optional therapy for CGD patients is presently not available. Long-term use of antibiotics may be helpful. The cloned product interferon gamma has been reported to improve superoxide generation, bactericidal activity, and immunoreactive cytochrome b in some CGD neutrophils and monocytes, both in vitro and in vivo. Currently a prospective clinical evaluation of the efficacy of interferon gamma is in progress. Molecular studies of expression and function of the X-CGD gene in phagocytic cells are in progress as well.

Superoxide-driven NAD(P)H oxidation induced by EDTA-manganese complex and mercaptoethanol

A purely chemical system for NAD(P)H oxidation to biologically active NAD(P)+ has been developed and characterized. Suitable amounts of EDTA, manganous ions and mercaptoethanol, combined at physiological pH, induce nucleotide oxidation through a chain length also involving molecular oxygen, which eventually undergoes quantitative reduction to hydrogen peroxide. Mn2+ is specifically required for activity, while both EDTA and mercaptoethanol can be replaced by analogs. Optimal molar ratios of chelator/metal ion (2:1) yield an active coordination compound which catalyzes thiol autoxidation to thiyl radical. The latter is further oxidized to disulfide by molecular oxygen whose one-electron reduction generates superoxide radical. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibits both thiol oxidation and oxygen consumption as well as oxidation of NAD(P)H if present in the mixture. A tentative scheme for the chain length occurring in the system is proposed according to stoichiometry of reactions involved. Two steps appear of special importance in nucleotide oxidation: (a) the supposed transient formation of NAD(P). from the reaction between NAD(P)H and thiyl radicals; (b) the oxidation of the reduced complex by superoxide to keep thiol oxidation cycling.

Leukocytic oxygen activation and microbicidal oxidative toxins

Following a brief introduction of cellular response to stimulation comprising leukocyte activation, three major areas are discussed: (1) the neutrophil oxidase; (2) myeloperoxidase (MPO)-dependent oxidative microbicidal reactions; and (3) MPO-independent oxidative reactions. Topics included in section (A) are current views on the activation mechanism, redox composition, structural and topographic organization of the oxidase, and its respiratory products. In section (B), emphasis is placed on recent research on cidal mechanisms of HOCl, including the oxidative biochemistry of active chlorine compounds, identification of sites of lesions in bacteria, and attendant metabolic consequences. In section (C), we review the (bio)chemistry of H2O2 and .OH microbicidal reactions, with particular attention being given to addressing the controversial issue of probe methods to identify .OH radical and critical assessment of the recent proposal that MPO-independent killing arises from site-specific metal-catalyzed Fenton-type chemistry.

Vanadate-stimulated oxidation of NAD(P)H

Vanadate stimulates the oxidation of NAD(P)H by biological membranes because such membranes contain NAD(P)H oxidases which are capable of reducing dioxygen to O2- and because vanadate catalyzes the oxidation of NAD(P)H by O2-, by a free radical chain mechanism. Dihydropyridines, such as reduced nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMNH), which are not substrates for membrane-associated NAD(P)H oxidases, are not oxidized by membranes plus vanadate unless NAD(P)H is present to serve as a source of O2-. When [NMNH] greatly exceeds [NAD(P)H], in such reaction mixtures, one can observe the oxidation of many molecules of NMNH per NAD(P)H consumed. This reflects the chain length of the free radical chain mechanism. We have discussed the mechanism and significance of this process and have tried to clarify the pertinent but confusing literature.

Neutrophil chemiluminescence induced by platelet activating factor and suppressed by C-reactive protein

We studied the effects of two substances related to acute inflammation, platelet activating factor (PAF) and C-reactive protein (CRP), on the chemiluminescence reaction of human neutrophils. PAF caused chemiluminescence dosedependently when calcium ion was present. This luminescence was inhibited competitively by CV-3988, a structural analogue of PAF. However, when CRP, an indicator of inflammation, was added, the luminescence reaction was inhibited. The findings suggested that CRP neutralizes the action of PAF in acute inflammation.

The superoxide-forming enzymatic system of phagocytes

The formation of oxygen-derived free radicals by the phagocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes and macrophages) is catalysed by a membrane-bound NADPH oxidase which is dormant in resting cells and becomes activated during phagocytosis or following interaction of the cells with suitable soluble stimulants. This enzyme is under investigation in many laboratories but its molecular structure remains to be clarified. Possible components such as flavoproteins, cytochrome b558, and quinones have been proposed on the basis of enzyme purification studies, effects of inhibitors, kinetic properties and analysis of genetic defects of the oxidase. An extensive discussion of the evidence for the participation of these constituents is reported. On the basis of the available information on the structure and the catalytic properties of the NADPH oxidase, a series of possible models of the electron-transport chain from NADPH to O2 is presented. Finally, the triggering mechanism of the respiratory burst is discussed, with particular reference to the stimulus-response coupling and the final modification(s) of the oxidase (phosphorylation, assembly, change of lipid environment, etc.) which are involved in its activation.

Measurement of NADPH oxidase activity in detergent lysates of human and mouse macrophage monolayers

An assay to measure NADPH oxidase activity in detergent lysates of macrophage monolayers is described. The addition of a reaction mixture containing appropriate concentrations of disrupting detergents, NADPH as oxidase substrate and cytochrome c as electron acceptor, to macrophages monolayers permits the reliable detection of a superoxide dismutase-sensitive NADPH-dependent cytochrome c reductive activity. This activity is strictly substrate dependent and NADH could not substitute for NADPH. The NADPH-dependent superoxide anion-forming activity (NADPH oxidase) was investigated in different populations of human and mouse macrophages. NADPH oxidase was activated by stimulation of macrophages with phorbol-myristate acetate and activity levels correlated with ability of intact cells to produce superoxide anion. The optimal conditions for assay of NADPH oxidase were investigated and the assay was used to measure the kinetic properties of the NADPH oxidase. The assay permits investigations of the enzymatic basis of oxidative metabolism in macrophages cultivated as adherent cells without any requirements for recovery of the cells in suspension and subcellular fractionation.

Superoxide production by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. A cytochemical approach

Phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes triggers a burst of oxidative metabolism resulting in hydrogen peroxide and superoxide production, and these active oxygen species function in the killing of microorganisms. A new cytochemical technique, based on a manganese dependent diaminobenzidine oxidation, has been developed to detect superoxide in these cells. It has been shown that superoxide generation is associated with the plasma membrane in cells activated by particulate (zymosan) and non-particulate (phorbol myristate acetate) stimuli. This membrane activity is maintained during invagination such that reduced oxygen is generated within the endocytic vacuoles. Reaction product is absent from unstimulated cells; additionally, formation of precipitate is blocked by omission of Mn++, low temperature, glutaraldehyde prefixation, and the presence of superoxide dismutase in the incubation medium.

Low apparent aldose reductase activity produced by monosaccharide autoxidation

Low apparent aldose reductase activity, as measured by NADPH oxidation, can be produced by the spontaneous autoxidation of monosaccharides. NADPH is oxidized to metabolically active NADP+ in a solution of autoxidizing DL-glyceraldehyde at rates of up to 15 X 10(-4) A340/min. The close parallelism between the effects of buffer salt type and concentration, monosaccharide structure and temperature activation on autoxidation and NADPH oxidation imply that autoxidation is a prerequisite for the NADPH oxidation, probably via the hydroperoxy radical. Nucleotide-binding proteins enhanced NADPH oxidation induced by DL-glyceraldehyde, up to 10.6-fold with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Glutathione reductase-catalysed NADPH oxidation in the presence of autoxidizing monosaccharide showed many characteristics of the aldose reductase reaction. Aldose reductase inhibitors acted as antioxidants in inhibiting this NADPH oxidation. These results indicate that low apparent aldose reductase activities may be due to artifacts of monosaccharide autoxidation, and could provide an explanation for the non-linear steady-state kinetics observed with DL-glyceraldehyde and aldose reductase.

Proton secretion by stimulated neutrophils. Significance of hexose monophosphate shunt activity as source of electrons and protons for the respiratory burst

Phagocytosis by neutrophils is accompanied by a burst in O2 consumption and activation of the hexose monophosphate shunt (HMPS). Proton secretion equal to the amount of O2 consumed is an additional feature of the respiratory burst, but its source has not been identified, nor has the source of all electrons donated to O2 in the respiratory burst. We chemically quantitated total CO2 generation in human neutrophils and found that proton secretion elicited by phagocytosis was accompanied by a stoichiometric increase in CO2 generation. Addition of carbonic anhydrase and its inhibitors had no effect on either the quantities of CO2 measured or the quantities of protons secreted. Therefore, the CO2 generated in the respiratory burst of stimulated neutrophils is hydrated to form H2CO3, which then dissociates, accounting for the observed proton secretion. Furthermore, the CO2 generated corresponds to the O2 consumed with a respiratory quotient of nearly 1. We conclude on the basis of this and previous studies that the HMPS activity is the source of both the electrons for the NADPH oxidase and of protons secreted in association with the respiratory burst.

Lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence as a new assay for NAD(P)H-oxidase activity in particulate fractions of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes

The enzyme responsible for the respiratory burst in human neutrophils is an oxidase that catalyzes the reduction of oxygen to superoxide anion (O-2). Superoxide anion production may be measured by chemiluminescence (CL) in the presence of lucigenin (10,10'-dimethyl-9,9'- biacridinium dinitrate). We established an assay of the oxidase, by measuring the CL of particulate fractions of PMN in the presence of lucigenin . This CL required the addition of NAD(P)H and was very low in fractions of resting cells. In particulate fractions of PMNs stimulated with PMA selectively, the NADPH-dependent CL was found to be increased. CL was linear with protein concentrations up to 100 micrograms and was shown to be at least 10 times more sensitive for the detection of O-2 than the assay based on the spectrophotometric determination of superoxide mediated cytochrome c reduction. CL was abolished by inactivating the enzyme at 56 degrees C.

Effect of chelating agents and superoxide on human neutrophil NAD(P)H oxidation

NAD(P)H oxidation is frequently measured to assay the activity of the neutrophil O-2-generating oxidase. It was found that 10(-4) M ethylene glycol bis (beta-aminoethyl ether)-N-N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) increased NAD(P)H oxidation by the 27,000 g granule fraction of resting and stimulated human neutrophils without altering net O-2 production. The commonly used chelating agents EDTA and diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid had similar effects. The addition of superoxide dismutase eliminated the effect of the chelating agents and thus demonstrated that the stimulated reaction was dependent upon O-2. KCN and bathophenanthroline disulfonate, an iron-chelating agent, prevented O-2-dependent NADPH oxidation by neutrophil granule fractions in the presence of EGTA. In contrast, bathocuproine disulfonate, a copper-chelating agent, mimicked the EGTA effect. The effects of both bathophenanthroline disulfonate and bathocuproine disulfonate were completely abolished when the agents were saturated with iron and copper, respectively. All the chelating agents studied, except bathophenonthroline disulfonate, also promoted O-2-dependent NADPH oxidation in a system wherein O-2 was generated by xanthine oxidase. Thus, commonly used chelating agents, by interacting with available iron and copper, may alter the apparent stoichiometry of the neutrophil O-2-generating oxidase and artifactually increase NADPH oxidation in other systems where O-2 is present.

Ultrastructural localization of NADPH-oxidase activity in murine peritoneal macrophages during phagocytosis of Brucella. Correlation with the production of superoxide anions

The localization of the enzyme NADPH oxidase in mouse peritoneal macrophages unstimulated or after phagocytosis of Brucella suis was investigated by electron microscopy in normal mice and mice immunized against B. suis. The enzyme was clearly visualized on mitochondrial cristae, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and the plasma membrane; its activity correlated mainly with the state of the endoplasmic reticulum which itself reflected macrophage activation. The enzyme turnover appeared to be accelerated after phagocytosis; the phagosome membrane was seldom stained by the enzyme reaction. These macrophages were also examined for the production of superoxide anions in vitro, either unstimulated or after phagocytosis. Phagocytosis increased the production of superoxide anions, especially in immunized animals. These results are discussed with regard to the role that the products of oxidative metabolism play in the inactivation of bacteria by phagocytic cells.

Modulation of macrophage superoxide release by purine metabolism

Metabolic flux through the purine salvage pathway appears to modulate superoxide secretion by elicited macrophages. Exogenous adenosine, the first substrate of this pathway, stimulates superoxide secretion, and Allopurinol, a specific inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, inhibits superoxide secretion. The effects of these agents are additive since it was possible for each to neutralize the effects of the other when given in combination. In these experiments, the purine salvage pathway was responsible for over ten times the superoxide production attributable to the NADPH oxidase system.

The O2- generating oxidoreductase of human neutrophils: evidence of an obligatory requirement for calcium and magnesium for expression of catalytic activity

NADPH-dependent O2- generating oxidoreductase activity recovered from cell lysates of phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated human neutrophils exhibits dependence on Ca+2 and Mg+2 for full expression of its catalytic activity. O2- generating activity was completely abolished by exposure of the oxidoreductase to EDTA, then reconstituted by exposure of the enzyme to Ca+2 and Mg+2 in excess of the EDTA concentration used to block catalytic activity. The oxidoreductase responded maximally to either 0.25 mM Ca+2 or 0.80 mM Mg+2. The pH optimum of the oxidoreductase exposed to Ca+2 and Mg+2 is between pH 7.0 and 7.6. The molar ratio of NADPH oxidation to O2- production determined at pH 7.6 in the presence of Ca+2 and Mg+2 is 0.49, indicating 1 mole of NADPH oxidized per 2 moles of O2- formed. Particulate fractions recovered from cell lysates of resting neutrophils exhibited no oxidoreductase activity under the same conditions.

Pyridine nucleotide-dependent generation of hydrogen peroxide by a particulate fraction from human neutrophils: effect of substrate concentration

NAD(P)H oxidase activity was determined in particulate fractions from human neutrophils by measuring the production of hydrogen peroxide. Activity was measured over a wide range of substrate concentrations from 0.0 to 4.0 mM. The activity with NADPH was consistently greater than with NADH. Activity towards both substrates was higher in a particulate fraction derived from cells which had phagocytized opsonized zymosan than in a corresponding fraction from resting cells. This increased activity was apparently due to a decreased Km of the enzyme, although no evidence of allosteric kinetics was obtained. The activity was markedly reduced in the presence of superoxide dismutase, indicating the involvement of a superoxide-mediated chain reaction. Particular fractions derived from cells of a patient with chronic granulomatous disease exhibited decreased activity towards both substrates and an apparent defect in the activation of the enzyme by phagocytosis.

The respiratory burst of phagocytic cells: facts and problems

1. The so called "soluble" oxidase(s) are not involved in the respiratory burst of guinea pig and human granulocytes and of guinea pig peritoneal resident and elicited macrophages. 2. The activation of the oxidation of NADPH by a membrane bound NAD(P)H oxidase is the main mechanism responsible for the activation of the respiration of phagocytes. 3. The oxidase is inactive in resting cells and the activated form works on the plasma membrane. 4. More than one mechanism is operative in the oxidation of NAD(P)H by cell free particles in vitro. These mechanisms vary in relation to the conditions of assay (pH and concentration of substrate). 5. Under optimal conditions in vitro the enzymatic oxidation of NADPH practically involves the univalent pathway of oxygen reduction with stoichiometry of two nanomoles of O2 formed for one nanomole of NADPH oxidized. 6. Also in intact cells all O2 is first univalently reduced to O2 and then discharged outside the cell or in the phagocytic vacuoles. 7. The main reactions involved in the O2 balance in intact cells are the univalent reduction of O2, the dismutation of O2 to H2O2 and the degradation of the peroxide through catalatic and peroxidatic mechanisms. 8. The total oxygen univalently reduced by the activated oxidase is 2-4 folds the net oxygen consumed by the cells, depending on the mechanism of H2O2 degradation. 9. All the rate of extrarespiration is accounted for by the rate of oxidation of physiological concentration of NADPH by the membrane-bound enzyme. This adequacy can be observed only under appropriate experimental conditions, because the high activity of the oxidase is not a permanent state.

Manganese and defenses against oxygen toxicity in Lactobacillus plantarum

Lactobacillus plantarum is aerotolerant during log-phase growth on glucose, but is an obligate aerobe on polyols. Respiration was cyanide resistant and under certain conditions was associated with the accumulation of millimolar concentrations of H(2)O(2). On glucose, optimal growth was observed in the absence of O(2). Extracts of L. plantarum did not catalyze the reduction of paraquat by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, but plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) was readily reduced. Such extracts produced O(2) (-) in the presence of NADH plus plumbagin. Plumbagin caused a 10-fold increase in the rate of respiration of intact cells in the presence of glucose and also imposed a loss of viability which was dependent upon both glucose and O(2). Although extracts of L. plantarum were devoid of true superoxide dismutase activity, this organism was comparable to superoxide dismutase-containing species in its resistance toward hyperbaric O(2) and toward the oxygen-dependent lethality of plumbagin. L. plantarum required Mn-rich media and actively accumulated Mn(II). Soluble extracts were found to contain approximately 9 mug of Mn per mg of protein and 75 to 90% of this Mn was dialyzable. Such extracts exhibited a dialyzable and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-inhibitable ability to scavenge O(2) (-). This O(2) (-)-scavenging activity was due to the dialyzable Mn(II) present in these extracts and could be mimicked by MnCl(2). Cells grown in Mn-rich media were enriched in dialyzable Mn and were more resistant toward oxygen toxicity and toward the oxygen-dependent plumbagin toxicity than were cells grown in Mn-deficient media. L. plantarum exhibited no nutritional requirement for iron and little or no iron was present in these cells, even when they were grown in iron-rich media. L. plantarum thus appears to use millimolar levels of Mn(II) to scavenge O(2) (-), much as most other organisms use micromolar levels of superoxide dismutases.

NAD(P)H oxidase activity in human neutrophils stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate

Phorbol myristate acetate activated in normal human neutrophils a single enzymatic entity that was dormant in unstimulated cells, optimally active at pH 7.0, and capable of oxidizing either NADH or NADPH, producing NAD(P)+ and superoxide (O27). Comparative fluorometric and spectrophotometric measurements supported the stoichiometry NAD(P)H + 20(2) leads to NAD(P)+ + 20(27) + H+. the seemingly considerable NAD(P)+ production at pH 5.5 and 6.0 was due largely to nonenzymatic oxidation of NAD(P)H by chain reactions initiated by HO27 (perhydroxyl radical), the conjugate acid of O27. This artifact, responsible for earlier erroneous assignments of an acid pH optimum for NAD(P)H oxidase, was prevented by including superoxide dismutase in fluorometric assays. NAD(P)H oxidase was more active towards NADPH (Km = 0.15 +/- 0.03 mM) than NADH (Km = 0.68 +/- 0.2 mM). No suggestion that oxidase activity was allosterically regulated by NAD(P)H was seen. Phorbol myristate acetate-induced O27 production was noted to be modulated by pH in intact neutrophils, suggesting that NAD(P)H oxidase is localized in the plasma membrane where its activity may be subject to (auto) regulation by local H+ concentrations.

[Phagocytosis mechanisms of alveolar macrophages and granulocytes (author's transl)]

Alveolar macrophages and granulocytes protect the organism against invaded microorganisms under various conditions. To investigate whether the environmental difference may influence the various phagocytic functions the adherence, chemotaxis, ingestion rate, degranulation as well as the bactericidal activity were determined in alveolar macrophages and granulocytes obtained from guinea pigs. In addition, the cytoskeleton was examined by observing the fluorescence of Concanavalin A receptors. Various functional differences between both cell types have been demonstrated. Both cell types exhibited the same adherence. In contrast, granulocytes demonstrated a greater chemotactic activity and ingestion rate than alveolar macrophages. Following the exposure to opsonized zymosan alveolar macrogphages secreted almost totally the lysosomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase during the degranulation. Nevertheless, alveolar macrophages exhibited a lower bactericidal activity than granulocytes. This functional differences were not caused by an alteration of the cytoskeleton. A random fluorescence distribution of FITC-Concanavalin A receptors was observed in 72% alveolar macrophages and 73% granulocytes, demonstrating polymerisation of the microtubuli. Only 12% alveolar macrophages and 11% granulocytes showed a capped FITC-Concanavalin A fluorescence which is associated with an alteration of the microtubulin. This study demonstrates that the difference in adherence, chemotaxis, ingestion rate, as well as the bactericidal activity of alveolar macrophages and granulocytes is a specific cell-type property.

Use of lipophilic probes of membrane potential to assess human neutrophil activation. Abnormality in chronic granulomatous disease

Previous studies using membrane potential sensitive probes have provided evidence that chemotactic factors elicit membrane potential changes in normal human neutrophils (PMN). In addition to stimulation of PMN motility, chemotactic factors also stimulate degranulation and superoxide ion (O-2) generation and it has been suggested that alteration of membrane potential activates these events (Korchak, H. M., and G. Weissmann. 1978. Proc, Natl, Acad, Sci. U. S. A. 75: 3818--3822). To further define the inter-relationship of these functions, studies were done with two indirect probes of membrane potential, 3-3'-dipentyloxacarbocyanine and triphenylmethylphosphonium ion (TPMP+) using PMN from normal subjects, from patients with abnormal O-2 production (chronic granulomatous disease [CGD]), and from patients with defective degranulation and/or chemotaxis (Cheddiak-Higashi syndrome and patients with elevated immunoglobulin (Ig)E and recurrent staphylococcal infections). The stimuli used were the chemoattractant N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (f-Met-Leu-Phe) and the secretagogues ionophore A23187 and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The results obtained with 3-3'-dipentyloxacarbocyanine and TPMP+ were comparable. The apparent membrane potential changes elicited by f-Met-Leu-Phe and PMA in normal PMN were reduced or entirely absent in PMN obtained from patients with CGD but normal in PMN from other patients. PMN from patients with CGD had normal calculated resting membrane potentials and normal responses elicited by the potassium ionophore valinomycin. The responses to calcium ionophore A23187 were only slightly impaired. The abnormality of the elicited response of CGD cells of f-Met-Leu-Phe and PMA could not be attributed to the absence of O-2, hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen, or hydrogen peroxide acting on the probes. Instead this abnormality appears to be associated with a dysfunction in the normal molecular mechanism(s) stimulated upon neutrophil activation. The data suggest chemoattractant alteration of membrane potential in normal PMN is related to activation of oxidative metabolism but the relationship to chemotaxis and degranulation remains to be established.

Studies on the NADPH oxidation by subcellular particles from phagocytosing polymorphonuclear leucocytes: evidence for the involvement of three mechanisms

1. The NADPH-oxidizing activity of a 100 000 X g particulate fraction of the postnuclear supernatant obtained frm guinea-pig phagocytosing poymorphonuclear leucocytes has been assayed by simultaneous determination of oxygen consumption, NADPH oxidation and O2- generation at pH 5.5 and 7.0 and with 0.15 mM and 1 mM NADPH. 2. The measurements of oxygen consumption and NADPH oxidation gave comparable results. The stoichiometry between the oxygen consumed and the NADPH oxidized was 1:1. 3. A markedly lower enzymatic activity was observed, under all the experimental conditions used, when the O2- generation assay was employed as compared to the assays of oxygen uptake and NADPH oxidation. 4. The explanation of this difference came from the analysis of the effect of superoxide dismutase and of cytochrome c which removes O2- formed during the oxidation of NADPH. 5. Both superoxide dismutase and cytochrome c inhibited the NADPH-oxidizing reactin at pH 5.5. The inhibition was higher with 1 mM NADPH than with 0.15 mM NADPH. 6. Both superoxide dismutase and cytochrome c inhibited the NADPH-oxidizing reaction at pH 7.0 with 1 mM NADPH but less than at pH 5.5 with 1 mM NADPH. 7. The effect of superoxide dismutase at pH 7.0 with 0.15 mM NADPH was negligible. 8. In all instances the inhibitory effect of cytochrome c was greater than that of superoxide dismutase. 9. It was concluded that the NADPH-oxidizing reaction studied here is made up of three components: an enzymatic univalent reduction of O2; an enzymatic, apparently non-univalent, O2 reduction and a non-enzymatic chain reaction. 10. These three components are variably and independently affected by the experimental conditions used. For example, the chain reaction is freely operative at pH 5.5 with 1 mM NADPH but is almost absent at pH 7.0 with 0.15 mM NADPH, whereas the univalent reduction of O2 is optimal at pH 7.0 with 1 mM NADPH.

The oscillating peroxidase-oxidase reaction in an open system. Analysis of the reaction mechanism

1. The oscillations in the peroxidase-oxidase reaction in an open system with NADH as the hydrogen donor are caused by the reaction starting and stopping at critical concentrations of the substrates O2 and NADH. The existence of such critical concentrations is typical of branched chain reactions. 2. The critical concentrations of O2 and NADH that determine the initiation of the reaction are mutually dependent. 3. The branching reactions that determine these critical concentrations involve compounds I and II. 4. Superoxide may be involved in the branching reactions by reacting with NADH and ferriperoxidase. At pH 5.1 the rate constant for the latter reaction is determined as 1.5 . 10(5) M-1 . s-1, whereas for the former reaction only an upper limit for the rate constant of 3.5 . 10(4) M-1 . s-1 could be estimated. These relatively low rate constants suggest that alternative branching reactions may also be involved.

Modification by metals, sulphydryl reagents and cyanide of the particle stimulated enhancement of oxygen consumption in bovine granulocytes

A simple, rapid method for the isolation of neutrophil-enriched leucocyte suspensions from bovine blood is described. The capacity of these cells to produce a particle stimulated increase in oxygen consumption deteriorated during a period of storage of the cells whilst the viability of the cells remained unchanged. Potassium cyanide inhibited the basal oxygen consumption but enhanced the stimulated respiratory burst. Zinc ions also enhanced this respiratory burst but ferric and manganous ions did not. The lipid-soluble non-haem iron chelator, 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2 thienyl)-1,3-butanedione, preferentially inhibited the particle stimulated type of oxygen consumption, as did the sulphydryl reagents, N-ethyl maleimide and diazine dicarboxylic acid bis-dimethyl amide. These data allow us to consider that zinc ions may play a role in the respiratory burst associated with phagocytosis and that iron-sulphur interactions may be important in oxygen consuming reactions.

Effects of fatty acids on superoxide radical generation in leukocytes

Acetylated ferricytochrome c was employed for the detection of superoxide radicals (O-2) generated both in intact cells and in subcellular fractions of leukocytes. Certain saturated fatty acids, myristate in particular, induced the production of O-2 in leukocytes, suggesting a correlation between the formation of O-2 and the hydrophobic interaction of fatty acids with the leukocyte plasma membrane. As compared with O-2 radical generation from phagocytizing leukocytes a greater stimulation of O-2 formation was observed in cells in which myristate was added. The enhanced activity which generated O-2 in the cell-free system was located in a particulate fraction but not in the cytosol. The rate of O-2 generation in the particulate fraction was higher in the presence of NADPH than in the presence of NADH. The effects of reagents such as KCN, 2,4-dichlorophenol and aminotriazole on the O-2 generation in this fraction are examined and the nature of the O-2 generating system is discussed.

NADPH-oxidation activities in subcellular fractions isolated from resting or phagocytozing human polymorphonuclears

Using a fluorometric assay for the determination of oxidized pyridine nucleotides (NAD[P]+), total and cyanide-resistant NADPH-oxidative activities have been measured in subcellular fractions isolated from resting and phagocytosing human polymorphonuclears. Enzymatic activies responsible for the oxidation of the NADPH have been recovered in the heavy particles (15,000g/15 min), the low-density particles (100,000g/30 min), and the cytosolic fraction. Stimulation of the cells with opsonized zymosan had a different effect on the NADPH-oxidative activities of these subcellular fractions, which suggests the involvement of various types of enzymatic systems in the oxidation of NADPH. The cytosolic fraction interacted strongly with the enzymatic activities occurring in the sedimentable fractions and is therefore thought to play a central role in the regulation of the activation of the oxidative metabolism associated with phagocytosis.

Deficiency of NADPH oxidase activity in chronic granulomatous disease

NADPH oxidase activity was examined in paired 27,000 x g granule fractions isolated from normal polymorphonuclear leukocytes from patients with chronic granulomatous disease. At 0.17 mM NADPH, the oxidase activity was not measurable in normal resting cells but was activated by phagocytosis. This activation was absent in CGD cells. At higher levels of NADPH, activity was present in cells from patients with CGD, although it was lower than normal, and no difference in activity was found between resting and phagocytizing cells. Granule fractions from phagocytizing normal cells exhibited higher than granule fractions from resting normal cells at all levels of NADPH. These results suggest that NADPH oxidase activity is defective in chronic granulomatous disease, and further that the defect is not the absence of the enzyme but rather a failure to activate it.