Relationship between oxidative burst activity and CD11b expression in neutrophils and monocytes from healthy individuals: effects of race and gender.

Oxidative burst activity and the expression of adhesion molecules have been used as indicators of leukocyte activation status. The aim of the study was to delineate the relationship of oxidative burst activity and the expression of adhesion molecules in neutrophils and monocytes from a pool of healthy volunteers (n = 96). We also tested the potential role of gender and a racial background in the individual response differences. Basal and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated oxidative burst and CD11b expression were determined using dihydrorhodamine 123 and phycoerythrin (PE)-conjugated anti-CD11b monoclonal antibodies. PMA markedly increased CD11b expression and cellular oxidant content in neutrophils and monocytes in all samples. However, the responses showed considerable variability among individuals. A positive correlation was observed between the responsiveness of neutrophils and monocytes in their basal or PMA-stimulated CD11b expressions and PMA-stimulated oxidative burst activities. In contrast, no correlation was found between the level of adhesion molecule expression and cellular oxidant content in monocytes or neutrophils either under basal or under PMA-stimulated conditions. The reactivity of oxidative burst (i.e., PMA-stimulated over basal) was significantly lower in neutrophils from African American males compared with cells from African American females, white females, or white males. In contrast, reactivity of monocytes was significantly elevated in white males compared with all other groups. These findings indicate that leukocytes with a relatively high degree of adhesion molecule expression may display an average or decreased oxidative burst activity, and vice versa. Our findings also indicate that ethnic background may influence the oxidative burst activity in neutrophils and monocytes. This needs consideration in clinical studies utilizing healthy volunteers with mixed gender and ethnic backgrounds.

Increased incidence of sepsis and altered monocyte functions in severely injured type A- glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient African American trauma patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether trauma patients with the common, type A- glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency have an aggravated inflammatory response, increased incidence of septic complications, and/or more profound alterations in leukocyte functions compared with nondeficient trauma patients. SETTINGS: Intensive and surgical care units of a trauma center and flow cytometry and experimental laboratories at a teaching university hospital. DESIGN: Prospective cohort clinical study with measurements on days 2 and 5 postinjury. Monocyte and neutrophil oxidant content, apoptosis, and CD11b expression and plasma cytokine levels were compared between G6PD-deficient and nondeficient patients. PATIENTS: A total of 467 male African American trauma patients were screened for the deficiency. Forty-four type A-202/376 G6PD-deficient patients were identified and enrolled in the study; 43 nondeficient patients were also enrolled and were matched by age, clinical criteria of injury severity, and type of trauma. MAIN RESULTS: After severe injury (Injury Severity Score, > or =16), 50% of the deficient and 6.2% of nondeficient patients developed sepsis with positive bacterial blood cultures. In deficient patients, the frequency of bronchial (75%) and wound infections (25%) was also increased compared with nondeficient patients (32% and 0%). The durations of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, Sepsis Syndrome, and days on antibiotics were three times longer in deficient than in nondeficient individuals. However, adult respiratory distress syndrome occurred in 37% of both groups. Anemia was more severe in the deficient than nondeficient patients from day 10 posttrauma. On day 5, the peroxide content was doubled, apoptosis was decreased, and CD11b expression was increased in monocytes from deficient patients compared with cells from nondeficient patients. On day 5, the plasma interleukin (IL)-10 concentration was significantly lower in deficient than nondeficient patients, whereas tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-6, and IL-8 levels were similar. After moderate injuries (Injury Severity Score, 9-16), the deficiency was not associated with adverse clinical effects, and the trauma-induced changes in leukocyte function were similar in deficient and nondeficient patients. CONCLUSIONS: The common type A- G6PD deficiency predisposes septic complications and anemia in trauma patients after severe injuries as defined by an Injury Severity Score of > or =16. This adverse clinical course is accompanied by altered monocyte functions manifested as augmented oxidative stress, a decreased apoptotic response, increased cell adhesion properties, and a diminished IL-10 response.

Endotoxin stimulates hydrogen peroxide detoxifying activity in rat hepatic endothelial cells.

The study aimed to assess the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vivo (from Escherichia coli, 2 mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally) on the production and elimination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in rat hepatic endothelial and Kupffer cells. Twenty-two hours after the injection of LPS, hepatic cells were isolated by collagenase and pronase digestion followed by centrifugal elutriation, and cell-associated H2O2 was determined by flow cytometry analysis using 2',7'-dichloroflorescin diacetate (DCF-diacetate). LPS treatment did not alter the basal or phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated levels of H2O2-related fluorescence in endothelial cells; however, it doubled phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated fluorescence in Kupffer cells. Administration of varying concentrations of H202 (range, 10(-7) - 10(-4) mol/L) in vitro caused a significantly delayed increase in fluorescence in endothelial cells from endotoxemic rats as compared with cells from saline-injected animals. The 50% effective concentration of H202 was found at 1.1 x 10(-6) and 8.1 x 10(-6) mol/L on endothelial cells after saline and LPS treatment, respectively. No differences were detected in H2O2-stimulated fluorescence between resting and LPS-stimulated Kupffer cells. Administration of varying glucose concentrations in vitro significantly decreased the H2O2-stimulated fluorescence in endothelial and Kupffer cells from LPS-injected animals. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase by in vitro administration of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NNMMA) did not alter the H2O2- or phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated responses in endothelial and Kupffer cells. As shown earlier, LPS stimulates the gene expression of GLUT1 glucose transporter, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), superoxide dismutases, and glutathione peroxidase in hepatic endothelial cells. The present data indicate that the LPS-induced metabolic alterations are accompanied by an increased H2O2-detoxifying capacity in hepatic endothelial cells. This may represent a protective mechanism against exogenous oxidative stress caused by activated hepatic phagocytes during inflammation. Our observations are consistent with primed production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in LPS-activated Kupffer cells.

Characterization of apolipoprotein B mRNA editing from rabbit intestine.

Apolipoprotein (apo) B-48 is generated by a unique physiological process. Cytidine 6,666 of the apo B primary transcript is posttranscriptionally converted to a uridine by an RNA editing mechanism that transforms the codon for glutamine 2,153 to a termination codon. The editing reaction can be duplicated in a cell-free extract. In this study, the apo B-48 mRNA editing activity derived from partially purified extracts of rabbit enterocytes was characterized. The optimum conditions for the editing reaction were determined to be a salt concentration of 0.125-0.150 M NaCl or KCl, a pH of 8-8.5, and a temperature of 30 degrees C. The reaction rate was linear up to 45 minutes and was proportional to the editing extract concentration. No metal ion cofactors, DNA or RNA cofactors, or energy requirements were identified. At optimum conditions, the reaction followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with a Km of 0.4 nM for the rabbit RNA substrate. In addition, the reaction rate was enhanced by the addition of 25 micrograms/ml heparin or 40% glycerol. The characteristics of the editing reaction suggest that it is catalyzed by a nucleotide sequence-specific cytidine deaminase that is either a single enzyme or a multimeric protein.