The effect of histamine on the oxidative burst of HL60 cells before and after exposure to reactive oxygen species.

During an inflammation neutrophils are stimulated to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). These ROS induce the release of histamine from mast cells, which are also present at the inflammation site. In this study dibutyryl cAMP differentiated HL60 cells are used as a model for human neutrophils. The effect of histamine on formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fmlp) stimulated cells is examined. Except for histamine also an accumulation of ROS takes place at the inflammation site and we investigated if ROS can influence the response of the stimulated HL60 cells. It is found that 10(-3) M histamine can inhibit the fmlp induced superoxide anion radical production. This occurs partly via an H2 receptor because H2 antagonists like famotidine, mifentidine and ranitidine could partially antagonize this effect of histamine. When HL60 cells are exposed to hydrogen peroxide or hypochlorous acid (20 min), an increased fmlp response is found while the inhibiting effect of histamine remains unchanged.

Histamine as a marker for hydroxyl radicals.

During inflammation an influx of neutrophils and release of mediators from mast cells (such as histamine) take place. The stimulated neutrophils can produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). One of these ROS is the highly reactive hydroxyl radical (OH(.)). It would be interesting to be able to quantify the extent of ROS formation. We investigated if histamine which is present at the inflammation site can serve as an endogenous marker for the formation of OH(.). We found that histamine after incubation with OH(.) gave two distinct products in our HPLC system. One of the products gave the same characteristics as the synthesized 2-imidazolone derivative of histamine. This suggests that this derivative will be formed when histamine is incubated with OH(.).

Structural characteristics of histamine H2 receptor antagonists that scavenge hypochlorous acid.

Gastric and duodenal ulcers are characterized by hypersecretion of gastric acid and pepsin, inflammation of the mucosa and an influx of neutrophils. These cells can produce reactive oxygen species after stimulation. Particularly hydroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) can be cytotoxic and damage the gastroduodenal mucosa. It has been shown that histamine H2 receptor antagonists such as cimetidine, ranitidine and famotidine are good hydroxyl radical scavengers. This study was undertaken to investigate whether these agents were able to scavenge the cytotoxic HOCl, and if so, which part of the molecule could be responsible for this action. It appears that the sulfur atom in the compound is of importance for scavenging HOCl. This finding should be taken into consideration in the development of new anti ulcer drugs, as HOCl is a detrimental factor in the pathophysiology of gastroduodenal ulcers.

A method for screening hypochlorous acid scavengers by inhibition of the oxidation of 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoic acid: application to anti-asthmatic drugs.

Neutrophils use a bactericidal mechanism through the release of the enzyme myeloperoxidase which catalyzes the formation of the powerful oxidant hypochlorous acid (HOCl) from H2O2 and Cl-. HOCl can inactivate alpha 1-antiproteinase (alpha 1-AP) which causes increased proteolytic activity at sites of pulmonary inflammation. The search for possible HOCl scavengers usually involves time-consuming enzyme assays (e.g., alpha 1-AP and elastase). We developed a method in which the compound 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoic acid could easily be oxidized by HOCl. The inhibition of this oxidation by a test compound is a measurement of its HOCl scavenging activity. To illustrate the method we tested some well-known HOCl scavengers such as S-methylated glutathione and oxidized lipoate. Finally several anti-asthmatic drugs such as terbutaline, isoproterenol, salbutamol, cromoglycate, theophylline, and dexamethasone were evaluated. Only the drug terbutaline acted as a HOCl scavenger.

Cimetidine and other H2 receptor antagonists as powerful hydroxyl radical scavengers.

Hydroxyl radical scavengers are able to compete with deoxyribose for the hydroxyl radicals generated in a reaction mixture. We found that the H2 receptor antagonists like cimetidine, burimamide, ranitidine, famotidine and tiotidine except for being good inhibitors in histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion, were also very powerful hydroxyl radical scavengers. Rate constants for reaction of these drugs with hydroxyl radicals ranged from 7.7 x 10(9) Ms-1 to 14.8 x 10(9) M-1 s-1. These rate constants are much higher than for the well-known hydroxyl radical scavenger mannitol (1.7 x 10(9) M-1 s-1). In this study we investigated which part of the cimetidine molecule might be responsible for its potent hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Testing fragments of the cimetidine molecule revealed that the guanidine moiety of cimetidine had little hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. However the other part of the molecule, the methylated imidazole with a sulfur and amino group containing side chain appeared to be a powerful hydroxyl radical scavenger.

Hepatic endocytosis of various types of mannose-terminated albumins. What is important, sugar recognition, net charge, or the combination of these features.

We synthesized several para-aminophenyl (pap-) mannose-terminated albumins with varying sugar density (Man7-HSA, Man22-HSA, and Man40-HSA) and compared hepatic uptake with (thio-)mannose-terminated bovine serum albumin (Man-43-AI-BSA) The rate of uptake in isolated perfused rat livers was found to be positively correlated with the sugar density (Man40-HSA = Man22-HSA greater than Man7-HSA greater than HSA). Immunohistochemical staining of liver sections showed for both types of neoglycoproteins that uptake occurred in nonparenchymal cells only. Competition experiments with a 500-fold excess of mannan, a known ligand for the mannose/N-acetylglucosamine receptor, that is predominantly localized in endothelial cells, showed complete inhibition of the (thio-)Man43-AI-BSA uptake. In the case of (pap-)mannose-terminated albumins, however, the extent of inhibition by mannan was moderate and decreased markedly with increasing sugar density, being only 20% for (pap-)Man40-HSA. Therefore, we hypothesized that one or more additional removal systems contributed to the clearance of these (pap-)mannose glycoproteins. We found that net negative charge of the (pap-)mannose albumins clearly increased with increasing sugar density, as shown on fast protein liquid chromatography anion-exchange chromatograms. To determine whether the scavenger receptor system that is also mainly present on endothelial cells is involved, we performed competition studies with strongly negatively charged substrates, such as dextran sulfate and formaldehyde-treated human serum albumin (fHSA). An excess of dextran sulfate (500 kDa), indeed blocked the (pap-)mannose-albumin uptake for more than 95%. Dextran sulfate completely inhibited the hepatic uptake of mannan as well, indicating that the polyanion does not discriminate between the scavenger system and the mannose receptor system and should be regarded as an aspecific inhibitor of receptor-mediated endocytotic pathways. Surprisingly, a 500-fold excess of fHSA only moderately (20%) inhibited the clearance of (pap-)Man40-HSA in spite of its high affinity for the scavenger receptor. However, a combination of mannan and fHSA strongly inhibited the uptake of (pap-)Man22-HSA (90%) and to a lesser extent (pap-)Man40-HSA (80%), indicating that a third uptake mechanism may exist that recognizes both mannose groups (or other sugars) and net negative charge. This so far unnoticed receptor system apparently is strongly affected by dextran sulfate and, as shown by immunohistochemistry, is mainly localized on Kupffer cells rather than on the endothelial cells of the liver.