Signal transduction in N‐formyl‐methionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine and concanavalin A stimulated human neutrophils: Superoxide production without a rise in intracellular free calcium

Abstract
Changes in intracellular ionized free calcium ([Ca]i), inositol triphosphate (IP3), and‐sn‐1,2‐diacylglycerol (DAG) were determined in relation to agonist‐induced human neutrophil superoxide (O2) production. With 0.1 μM N‐formyl‐methionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine (fMLP) stimulation, generation of IP3 and a peak rise in [Cai] occurred at 30 sec, preceding maximal O2 production (1.5 min) and the maximal rise in DAG mass (4 min). FMLP‐induced O2 production was inhibited by pertussis toxin. In cytochalasin B‐primed, concanavalin A (Con A) stimulated neutrophils, a peak rise in [Ca], but not IP3 proceeded O2 production, and pertussis toxin did not inhibit O2 production. EGTA inhibited the cytochalasin B/fMLP‐induced increment in [Ca]i and O2 production by 75% and 50% respectively, and completely ablated the response to cytochalasin B/Con A, suggesting a role for extracellular as well as intracellular calcium in the respiratory burst. However, three types of experiments indicate that an increase in [Ca]i is neither sufficient nor always required for O2 production. First, treatment with ionomycin resulted in a marked increase in [Ca]i but did not cause O2 production. Second, pertussis toxin inhibited both fMLP‐induced IP3 generation and O2 production but did not inhibit the rise in [Ca]i Third, following neutrophil priming with dioctanoylglycerol (diC8), maximal O2 production occurred in response to 0.015 μM fMLP or Con A without a rise in [Ca]i, and diC8/fMLP‐induced O2 production was not inhibited by EGTA. Taken together, these data suggest that (1) an increment in [Ca]i is not strictly essential for neutrophil O2 production, (2) unlike fMLP, Con A‐induced O2 production does not proceed through a pathway involving the pertussis toxin‐sensitive G protein, and (3) regulation of neutrophil [Ca]i involves mechanisms independent of IP3 concentration.

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