Activation of transcription factor NF‐κB by phagocytic stimuli in human neutrophils

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Abstract
Phagocytosis represents an important physiological trigger for the inducible expression of several genes in human neutrophils. Here, we report that a DNA‐binding activity primarily consisting of the classical NF‐κB heterodimer, p50/RelA, is induced in phagocytosing neutrophils. Under these conditions, NF‐κB activation was found to be a rapid and transient response, reaching a maximum by 10–15 min, and returning to near‐basal levels by 30 min. In neutrophils undergoing the phagocytosis of opsonized yeasts, the onset of NF‐κB activation was paralleled by a decline in immunoreactive IκB‐α protein levels, and the cellular IκB‐α pool was replenished by 30 min, in agreement with our gel shift data. We conclude that NF‐κB activation could constitute one of the mechanisms whereby the expression of κB‐responsive genes is enhanced in phagocytosing neutrophils. To our knowledge, this represents the first demonstration that phagocytic stimuli can induce NF‐κB activation in human neutrophils.