Abstract
Superoxide (O2 ) generation of guinea‐pig macrophages induced by wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) was suppressed to a great extent by the inhibition of transmethylation with 3′‐deazaadenosine. When macrophages were stimulated with phorbor myristate (PMA) instead of WGA, the suppression of O2 generation of macrophages was observed to be slight despite the presence of 3′‐deazaadenosine. These results were confirmed under various conditions. Thus the WGA‐stimulated O2 generation of macrophages is probably associated with transmethylation, but the PMA‐stimulated O2 generation is not. WGA‐stimulated O2 generation of macrophages was also inhibited in the presence of dibutyryl cAMP or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), substances that increase intracellular cAMP, but PMA‐stimulated O2 generation was only slightly affected by these compounds. These results suggest that the mechanism for O2 generation of macrophages caused by WGA is different from that for O2 generation caused by PMA.

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