Regulation of immune response by components of the complement cascade and their activated fragments.
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Treatment of allergic asthma with inhaled corticosteroids results in local down-regulation of proinflammatory cytokine synthesis and in marked decrease in tissue eosinophilia. Blood concentrations of inhaled corticosteroids, although significantly lower than those measured in the lung, may still have antiinflammatory effects on circulating eosinophils, reducing their ability to migrate. The aim of our study was to evaluate in vitro the activity of budesonide on blood eosinophils by measuring their chemotactic response, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) release, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production in the presence of different drug concentrations similar to those obtained at airway level (10(-8) and 10(-7) M) and at blood level (10(-10) and 10(-9) M). Partially purified blood eosinophils, isolated from 23 asthmatic subjects, were used to evaluate the activity of budesonide on: (1) chemotaxis toward the activated fifth component of complement (C5a, 0.1 microg/ml) or recombinant human (rh) interleukin (IL)-5 (200 pg/ml), (2) ECP release by cells stimulated with tetradecanoylphorbol acetate (TPA) and (3) H2O2 production by TPA-activated cells. The chemotactic response to C5a was down-regulated significantly by budesonide only by the highest concentrations tested (10(-8) and 10(-7) M); differently, budesonide was effective in inhibiting eosinophil migration toward rhIL-5, at all concentrations tested (p < 0.01, each comparison). By contrast, no drug-induced modifications were observed in ECP release or in H2O2 production (p > 0.05, each comparison). We conclude that concentrations of budesonide similar to those obtained in vivo are effective in inhibiting eosinophil locomotion but not in down-regulating the release of reactive oxygen species and granule-associated proteins.
BACKGROUND: It is recognized that the inflammatory mediators complement and cytokines are generated during cardiopulmonary bypass as an endogenous response to extracorporeal circulation. METHODS: Nineteen randomized patients (10 steroid/9 nonsteroid) entered an institutional review board-approved protocol to measure complement and interleukin level generation before and after elective coronary revascularization. The steroid regimen involved 1 g of methylprednisolone sodium succinate intravenously before bypass and 4 mg of dexamethasone every 6 hours for four doses during the first 24 hours of recovery. Complement and interleukin levels were measured before bypass, immediately after bypass, and at 24, 48 and 72 hours of recovery. RESULTS: In the nonsteroid group, there was a significant elevation in all inflammatory mediators relative to the steroid group. The predominant changes occurred at 24 hours after operation. CONCLUSIONS: Steroids produced a dramatic reduction in complement and interleukin levels. The number of patients was clearly too small to document a clinical consequence of steroid administration.
The cyclic pyrimidine nucleotide, cCMP, is an endogenous substance in mammalian cells but little is known on its functional role. We studied the effects of cCMP, its cell-permeant analogue, N4,2'-O-dibutyryl cytidine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (Bt2cCMP), and of butyrate on superoxide (O2-) formation and cytosolic Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) in human neutrophils. Bt2cCMP inhibited O2- formation and the rise in [Ca2+]i induced by a chemotactic peptide at submaximally effective concentrations. O2- formation induced by platelet-activating factor was potentiated by Bt2cCMP, whereas the cyclic nucleotide had no effect on the rise in [Ca2+]i induced by this agonist. Bt2cCMP enhanced O2- formation induced by tau-hexachlorocyclohexane at a submaximally effective concentration. O2- formation stimulated by complement C5a, concanavalin A, NaF, A 23187, phorbol myristate acetate and arachidonic acid was not affected by Bt2cCMP. cCMP was less effective than Bt2cCMP to inhibit fMet-Leu-Phe-induced O2- formation, and butyrate was without effect on any of the functional parameters studied. Our data show that a cell-permeant analogue of cCMP differentially inhibits and potentiates activation of human neutrophils.
The rat parasite Trypanosoma lewisi was incubated in vitro with rat or human serum, washed, and extracted in detergent. Extracts were fractionated by electrophoresis in denaturing gels, transferred to nitrocellulose, allowed to renature, then immunoblotted with polyclonal antibodies to rat complement component C3 and human complement components C3, C5, and factor B. Molecules that reacted with these antibodies were detected in the extracts. Fragments of rat C3 were detected in extracts of parasites that had not been exposed to serum in vitro. Additional complement deposition occurred during in vitro incubations; human complement components deposited in vitro could be distinguished from rat components deposited in vivo. Complement deposition in vitro required magnesium ions and did not occur when heat inactivated serum was used. Components reacting with antibodies to human C3 included a group of bands with molecular weights higher than C3 alpha or beta chains. Blotting with affinity purified, chain specific antibodies demonstrated that a 68 kDa component on parasites is C3 beta and that a 44 kDa molecule is derived from C3 alpha. A 73 kDa component that was difficult to resolve from C3 beta is probably also a C3 alpha fragment. This suggests that an inactive iC3b-like molecule is present on parasites. Kinetic studies showed that cleavage of C3 alpha is rapid and that the amount of C3 alpha fragments and C3 beta on intact parasites reached a steady state after 15 min. When parasites were trypsinized prior to incubation in C5 or C6 deficient serum, the rate and extent of C3 and C5 deposition increased. Unprocessed C3 alpha' and C5 alpha' chains were detected. Trypsinized parasites were lysed by the alternative complement pathway in normal serum. Intact parasites could be lysed by complement in the presence of antibody. The data support our previous suggestion that trypsin sensitive surface proteins on intact T. lewisi limit alternative pathway activity by restricting C3/C5 convertase activity.
Factor D is an essential enzyme for activation of complement by the alternative pathway (AP). It has been difficult to obtain mouse monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) which block the function of factor D. We have developed a strategy to obtain such Mabs using a double screening procedure of the initial clones. We selected the clone whose supernatant had the lowest level of anti-factor D Ab by ELISA and abolished factor D haemolytic activity. Addition of this Mab to human serum was shown to abolish conversion of C3 by cobra venom factor, haemolysis of rabbit erythrocytes, and activation of C3 and C5 by cuprophane dialysis membranes.
Human C3b bound to the ghost of sheep erythrocytes (E*) via activation of the alternative complement pathway (E*AC3b) consists of four major constituents on SDS-PAGE of 350, 260, 210 and 180 kDa. 350 kDa C3b is a dimeric form of C3b in which the alpha' chain of one C3b binds covalently to that of the other C3b. This complex is presumed to serve as a core for the alternative pathway C5 convertase. The other C3b populations are monomers complexed with membrane proteins or sugars. Using E*AC3b (C3b labeled) as a substrate, we have investigated functional properties of membrane cofactor protein (MCP), which is an integral membrane protein with C3b-binding and factor I-dependent cofactor activities. In conjunction with factor I, MCP was found to degrade the protein-bound C3b preferentially including the 350 kDa dimer. There was a similar but lesser tendency of this selective cleavage of C3b-dimer by CR1 but not by factor H or C4bp. In contrast to CR1 and factor H, detergent solubilization of EAC3b was required for MCP to fully express its cofactor activity for this selective degradation of C3b. We next separated the C3b dimer from the monomers and assessed their ability to assemble the alternative C5 convertase. The C3b dimer but not the monomers expressed C5 convertase activity following the addition of factors B and D, C5 and Ni2+. Kinetic analysis of the degradation of the C3b dimer by MCP and factor I suggested that only one C3b was efficiently converted to C3bi and this occurred concomitant with a decrease in C5 convertase activity. These results suggest that MCP has the ability to more efficiently interact with protein-bound C3b and that this may relate as well to its preferential ability to irreversibly inactivate the C5 convertase.
The aim of the present work was to develop an in vitro model of eosinophil cytotoxicity which mimics numerous in vivo situations characterized by complement activation through the alternative pathway. Our results demonstrate that eosinophilic granulocytes from patients with parasitic diseases and blood eosinophilia were able to damage chicken red blood cells when incubated with zymosan-activated serum (ZAS) as assessed by a 51Cr release assay. The phenomenon was independent of the presence of antibodies directed against the target cells and related to the quantity of ZAS added to the wells. As target cell lysis is totally or partially inhibited by catalase, sodium azide and potassium cyanide, an involvement of toxic oxygen derivatives as cytolytic mediators was suggested.
We studied the action of iodinated thyronines on the superoxide (O2-) production of human neutrophils stimulated with a chemotactic peptide N-formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (FMLP) in vitro. L-Thyroxine and L-triiodothyronine elicited dose dependently a potent inhibitory action on the FMLP-induced O2- production with IC50 values of about 10(-6) M and 7.10(-6) M, respectively, but L-diiodothyronine did not. No difference in the inhibition was observed between the L-form and the D-form of the compounds. Inhibition of the O2- production by L-thyroxine was restored by the washing of the cells. L-Thyroxine did not affect the O2- production stimulated with either the fifth component of the complement (C5a) or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. L-Thyroxine and L-triiodothyronine were found to block [3H]FMLP binding to its own receptor with IC50 values similar to those for the inhibition of the O2- production by changing the affinity for the peptide but not the number of the receptors. These results suggest that thyroxine and triiodothyronine interfere with the binding of FMLP to the receptors, leading to the inhibition of neutrophil functions, such as O2- production, and that the inhibitory effects result from extranuclear actions rather than nuclear receptor-mediated ones.
Seventeen burned patients were investigated--Group I (n=10) with a mean burned area expressed as unit burn standard (UBS) of 69 +/- 24 and Group II (n = 7) with a mean UBS of 23 +/- 8. Blood samples were collected immediately after admission, 6-12 h after injury, during the morning and evening of day 1, and then daily for 2 weeks. This prospective study demonstrated complement activation in vivo in all burned patients, measured by C3d/C3 ratio index which was not related to the extent of the burned surface. A significant protease-antiprotease imbalance, correlated to the severity of burns, was found, leukocyte elastase was increased throughout the observation period, alpha 2-macroglobulin drastically decreased in severely burned patients, and alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor promptly decreased below the normal level in patients with more than 40 UBS. Finally, there was a delayed but then persistent acute-phase reactant protein response involving C-reactive protein, haptoglobin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, the concentrations of which reached a plateau on days 6 or 7.
BACKGROUND: The lungs play a crucial role in maintaining amino acid homeostasis by exporting glutamine. Lung glutamine release is increased markedly in patients with sepsis, and in rat models injection of endotoxin causes up-regulation of glutamine synthetase (GS), the principal enzyme of glutamine synthesis. To investigate the molecular regulation of this response in the lung microvasculature we studied the effects of several hormones and cytokines that mediate the septic response on the expression of GS in rat microvascular pulmonary endothelial cells (MPECs). METHODS: MPECs were grown to confluence and incubated with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone, prostaglandins, cytokines, or activated complement C5a. Cellular lysates were prepared and total cellular RNA was extracted, hybridized with a GS complementary DNA derived probe, and normalized to reduced glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase. GS protein content was determined by Western blotting with a GS antibody. RESULTS: Of the compounds tested, only dexamethasone caused a marked increase (tenfold or greater) of GS messenger RNA and protein levels in MPECs. Dexamethasone-induced accumulation of GS messenger RNA was rapid, dose-dependent, and maximal after 4 hours of exposure. GS protein levels were maximal after 8 hours and remained elevated for at least 48 hours. The dose of dexamethasone sufficient to induce 50% of maximal GS messenger RNA and protein level increase was approximately 10 nmol/L. The dexamethasone-induce increase of GS messenger RNA level was completely blocked by the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486 and by the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D but was not inhibited by the translational inhibitor cycloheximide. CONCLUSIONS: Glucocorticoids augment GS expression in rat lung microvascular endothelial cells in a manner consistent with a direct transcriptional response via glucocorticoid receptors. Other septic response mediators had minimal effect on GS expression. Induction of GS expression by adrenocorticoids is likely to contribute to the marked ability of the lungs to augment glutamine production during septic states.
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We have previously shown that the S-prenylated cysteine analogue N-acetyl-S-trans,trans-farnesyl-L-cysteine (L-AFC) inhibits basal and formyl peptide receptor-stimulated binding of guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP[S]) to and hydrolysis of GTP by membranes of HL-60 granulocytes and have presented evidence suggesting that this inhibition was not caused by reduced protein carboxyl methylation [Scheer, A., & Gierschik, P. (1993) FEBS Lett. 319, 110-114]. We now report a detailed analysis of the structural properties of S-prenylated cysteine analogues required for this inhibition and demonstrate that S-prenylcysteines also suppress basal and receptor-stimulated GTP[S] binding to human peripheral neutrophil and HL-60 granulocyte membranes when stimulated by formyl peptide and complement C5a, respectively. S-Prenylcysteines did not affect pertussis toxin-mediated [32P]ADP-ribosylation of Gi proteins. The inhibitory effect of L-AFC was reversible and was not mimicked by farnesylic acid. L-AFC also interfered with GTP[S] binding to retinal transducin when stimulated by light-activated rhodopsin in a reconstituted system. This inhibitory effect was fully reversed upon increasing the concentration of either the G protein beta gamma dimer or the activated receptor. On the basis of these results, we suggest that S-prenylated cysteine analogues like L-AFC inhibit receptor-mediated G protein activation by specifically and reversibly interfering with the interaction of activated receptors with G proteins, most likely with their beta gamma dimers, rather than by inhibiting alpha.beta gamma heterotrimer formation.
The terpenoid 6,7-diformyl-3',4',4a',5',6',7',8',8a'-octahydro-4,6',7'-trihydrox y-2',5',5', 8a'-tetramethylspiro[1'(2'H)-naphthalene-2(3H)-benzofuran] (1a; K-76), a natural product of fungal origin, and its monocarboxylate sodium salt 1c (R = COONa; K-76COONa) inhibit the classical and alternative pathways of complement, and 1c was shown to inhibit the classical pathway at the C5 activation step. In an attempt to elucidate the essential pharmacophore of 1a,c, the natural product was used as a "topographical model" for the design of partial analogs retaining the desired complement inhibiting potency. Therefore, A/C/D-ring analogs have been synthesized, as shown in Scheme 1 using 3-methoxyphenol (3) and limonene chloride (5) as starting materials, which contain functional groups similar to those found on the natural product. The use of (4R)-(+)- and (4S)(-)-limonene chloride (5a,b, respectively) provided two series of compounds differing in the stereochemistry of the C-4 chiral center (limonene moiety numbering). The in vitro assay results of the inhibition of anaphylatoxin production and classical complement-mediated hemolysis revealed that 7-carboxy-2-(R,S)-methyl-2-(1'-methylcyclohexen-(4'R)-yl)-4-met hoxybenzofuran (13a) and 7-carboxy-2-(R,S)-methyl-2-(1'-methylcyclohexen-(4'S)-yl)-4-met hoxybenzofuran (13b) were active in the same range of concentrations as the natural product.
1. The bovine Galpha(14) is a member of the G(q) subfamily of G proteins that can regulate phospholipase Cbeta isoforms but the extent to which Galpha(14) recognizes different receptor classes is not known. 2. Galpha(14) was cotransfected with a variety of receptors in COS-7 cells, and agonist-induced stimulation of phospholipase C was then measured. 3. Activation of the type 2 but not type 1 somatostatin receptor in cells coexpressing Galpha(14) stimulated the accumulation of inositol phosphates; functional expression of both subtypes of somatostatin receptors was determined by the ability of somatostatin to inhibit cyclic AMP accumulation. 4. Among the three opioid receptors (mu, delta, and kappa), only the delta receptor was capable of stimulating IP formation when coexpressed with Galpha(14) in COS-7 cells. 5. A panel of G(i)- and G(s)-linked receptors was screened for their ability to stimulate IP accumulation via Galpha(14). The adenosine A(1), complement C5a, dopamine D(1), D(2) and D(5), formyl peptide, luteinizing hormone, secretin, and the three subtypes of melatonin (mt1, MT2, and Xenopus) receptors were all incapable of activating Galpha(14), while the alpha(2)- and beta(2)-adrenoceptors were able to do so. 6. Galpha(14)-mediated stimulation of phospholipase Cbeta was agonist dose-dependent. These data demonstrate that although Galpha(14) can interact with different classes of receptors, it is much less promiscuous than Galpha(15) or Galpha(16).