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*
Institute of Immunology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; and
Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Nephrology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| Abstract |
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receptor cross-linking was accompanied by up-regulation of neutrophil
surface CD11b, CD35, and CD66b only in the presence of selected serum
proteins, such as purified human C4, C5, or human serum albumin (HSA).
Scavenging of ROI attenuated protein-dependent receptor regulations.
Moreover, exogenous hydrogen peroxide was effective to increase
neutrophil CD11b expression in a protein-dependent way. HSA exposed to
neutrophil-derived ROI displayed signs of oxidative modification in
terms of carbonyl formation. Such modified HSA transferred to resting
neutrophils bound readily to the cell surface and effected receptor
modulation as well as cellular spreading. In contrast, neither native
HSA nor HSA protected against oxidation by the tocopherol analog Trolox
exhibited agonistic properties. In conclusion, we demonstrate that
neutrophil-derived ROI modify selected serum proteins, which, in turn,
act as proinflammatory mediators of neutrophil
stimulation. | Introduction |
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2 integrins to endothelial intercellular
adhesion molecules (1). The principal neutrophil integrin,
CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1,
M
2), is crucially
involved in neutrophil aggregation and also acts as phagocytic
complement receptor type 3 (2). Ligand binding may
potentiate neutrophil effector functions such as respiratory burst and
degranulation (3). The multifunctional nature of
CD11b/CD18 is reflected by its subcellular location in PMN. Aside from
constitutive plasma membrane expression, this receptor is preformed and
stored in secretory vesicles, gelatinase granules, and specific
granules (4). This guarantees a controlled stepwise
translocation to the cell surface upon cell stimulation, because
neutrophil exocytotic organelles follow a certain rank order of
mobilization. First, secretory vesicles are mobilized on PMN activation
to fuse with the cell membrane, followed by gelatinase granules,
specific granules, and azurophilic granules on continuing or increased
cell stimulation (5). Only CD11b/CD18 molecules present on
or translocated to the cell surface are then transiently activated to
enable avid ligand binding and adhesion (3). Because
CD11b/CD18 is central to neutrophil effector functions, its cell
surface up-regulation serves as well-established marker of neutrophil
activation (6, 7).
Phagocytosis via Fc
or complement receptors by PMN is usually
accompanied by the formation of a spectrum of aggressive oxidants
initiated by the action of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase
(8). The reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) released are
the highly reactive superoxide anion, its dismutation product hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2), probably
the aggressive hydroxyl radical, and products of the myeloperoxidase
(MPO)-H2O2-halide system,
such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and chloramines (9).
These oxidants are secreted intracellularly into the forming phagosome,
as well as into the extracellular PMN environment (8),
resulting in both microbial killing and tissue damage
(10).
Various oxidants were found to modulate the expression of neutrophil adhesion molecules and opsonic receptors and to increase PMN adhesion to endothelial cells (11, 12, 13). In addition, ROI are able to activate complement factor C5 in a nonenzymatic way, generating either C5b-like activity without C5 cleavage (14) or anaphylatoxins (15) depending on the ROI species studied. Moreover, ROI are implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of conditions, such as adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (16), atherosclerosis (17), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (18), and Ab therapy- and hemodialysis-associated side effects (19, 20). Reduced plasma antioxidant status (21) and protein oxidation correlating with either PMN infiltration or tissue MPO content (22, 23, 24, 25, 26) was observed in patients suffering from inflammatory disorders. However, it is not known whether oxidized proteins are simply a consequence of increased ROI burden during inflammation or also contribute to neutrophil effector functions.
The present study was designed to evaluate the role of PMN-derived ROI
as mediators of PMN activation by inducing a strong neutrophil
oxidative burst using an in vitro model for Fc
R cross-linking. We
were able to demonstrate for the first time that activated PMN, via
released ROI, modify a number of selected serum proteins, which, in
turn, stimulate PMN adhesion molecule regulation, degranulation, and
neutrophil spreading.
| Materials and Methods |
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Tiron, L-methionine, sodium azide, p-aminobenzohydrazide, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), PMSF, eglin C fragment 6063 methyl ester, gelatin, 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, mercaptosuccinate, FITC-conjugated human serum albumin (HSA), FMLP, and PMA were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). FMLP and PMA were dissolved in DMSO at 10-2 and 10-3 M, respectively, and stored at -20°C. Methoxysuccinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Val chloromethylketone and Z-Gly-Leu-Phe chloromethylketone were obtained from Enzyme Systems Products (Livermore, CA), and apocynin and Trolox were obtained from Aldrich (Milwaukee, WI). Reduced glutathione (GSH) was purchased from ICN (Costa Mesa, CA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was obtained from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany), and 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate (DCFH-DA) was purchased from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR). DCFH-DA was dissolved in ethanol at a concentration of 2.5 mg/ml and stored in the dark at -20°C. Complement component C1q-, C3-, and C5-depleted human serum as well as purified human C4, C4a, C4b, C5, C5a, C6, C7, and factor H were obtained from Calbiochem (La Jolla, CA), as was high purity nondenatured HSA. Purified anti-C6 and anti-C7 mAb were purchased from Quidel (San Diego, CA). In some experiments, human C4, C5, C6, and C7 from Quidel and highly purified HSA (Behring, Marburg, Germany) and nondenatured HSA (ICN) were used to compare different protein preparations. Recombinant soluble CR1 (sCR1) was a gift from Carolyn Pettey (AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Needham, MA). Pefabloc SC was purchased from Roche (Mannheim, Germany). The murine IgG2a mAb Orthoclone OKT3 recognizing the T cell-specific CD3 Ag not expressed by PMN was obtained from Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. (Raritan, NJ). FITC-conjugated mAb anti-CD11b (BEAR 1) was purchased from Immunotech (Marseilles, France), and FITC-conjugated mAb anti-CD35 (E11), anti-CD66b (80H3), anti-CD88 (W17/1), and purified mouse IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 myeloma proteins were obtained from Serotec (Oxford, U.K.). As staining control, an FITC-conjugated isotype-matched irrelevant mAb (An der Grub, Kaumberg, Austria) was used.
Cell preparations
Neutrophils were isolated from heparinized peripheral blood of healthy donors using Lymphoprep (Nycomed, Oslo, Norway) density gradient centrifugation. After separation, all further isolation steps were performed on ice. Erythrocytes were removed from the pellet by isotonic lysis with ammonium chloride buffer (157 mM NH4Cl, 10 mM KHCO3, and 0.1 mM EDTA). After washing twice, PMN were resuspended in ice-cold Dulbeccos PBS containing calcium and magnesium (Life Technologies, Vienna, Austria), counted on a Cell Dyn 610 hematology analyzer (Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, IL), and adjusted to the desired cell density to be immediately used for experiments. The purity of the PMN preparations routinely exceeded 95%; cell viability as determined by propidium iodide staining was at least 98%.
For some experiments, erythrocytes were isolated by centrifugation of
heparinized peripheral blood at 200 x g for 10 min,
gentle removal of platelet-rich plasma and leukocytes, washing three
times, and resuspension in PBS at
50% hematocrit. Cells were
counted and adjusted to the desired concentration. For control
experiments, both erythrocytic catalase and glutathione metabolism were
inactivated by treating RBC with 50 mM 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, 2 mM
1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, and 0.2 mM mercaptosuccinate at 37°C for
1 h, followed by washing twice with PBS
(27).
Serum preparation
Normal human serum (NHS) was obtained by drawing blood from healthy donors into siliconized glass tubes, allowing it to clot for 30 min at room temperature, putting it on ice for an additional 30 min, and centrifuging it at 1500 x g for 20 min at 4°C. Sera from at least five subjects were pooled and immediately used or frozen in aliquots at -80°C. Heat-inactivated serum (HIS) was prepared by putting aliquots of freshly thawed NHS into a 56°C water bath for 35 min.
Coating of Igs to plastic surfaces
One hundred microliters of monomeric murine IgG2a (OKT3) at 100 µg/ml in PBS was added in duplicate to 96-well flat-bottom microtiter plates (Costar, Cambridge, MA) and left at 37°C for 1 h. For control experiments, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, or IgG3 mouse myeloma protein was immobilized under identical conditions. After three washings with PBS, the Ig-coated microtiter plates were immediately used for PMN incubations.
Oxidative burst measurements
In experiments with immobilized IgG2a (IMIG; OKT3, unless otherwise indicated), extracellular ROI formation was assessed according to the method of Rosenkranz et al. (28). Purified PMN (2.5 x 105) and 0.75 µg/ml DCFA-DA were incubated in duplicate with IMIG or immobilized IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, or IgG3 mouse myeloma proteins; medium control; PMA (10-7 M); or FMLP (10-6 M) at 37°C. After 30 min microtiter plates were read on a Cytofluor 2300 fluorescence concentration analyzer (Millipore, Vienna, Austria) using 485-nm excitation and 530-nm emission wavelengths. After background subtraction, production of ROI was expressed as stimulation index by the formula: x-fold increase = FLUOstim/FLUOcontrol, where FLUOstim is the developed fluorescence intensity per well with cells incubated in the presence of immobilized Ig, PMA, or FMLP, and FLUOcontrol is the fluorescence intensity per well with cells incubated with medium control.
Determination of surface receptor expression
Isolated neutrophils (2.5 x 105) were added to each well with or without IMIG in the presence of medium control; NHS; HIS; C1q-, C3-, or C5-depleted serum (final concentration, 25%); a purified serum protein; or cuprophan-activated NHS. The latter was prepared by incubating NHS (200 µl) with 14 mg of the known complement-activating dialyzer material cuprophan at 37°C for 30 min (29). All incubations were performed in duplicate and prepared on ice to synchronize PMN and/or C activation. In some experiments sCR1 (30 µg/ml), autologous RBC (in PMN-RBC ratios of 1:100 and 1:1000), L-methionine (150 mM), H2O2 (0.0310 mM), or NaOCl (0.1100 µM) was added to wells at 4°C before final addition of PMN. In experiments with the MPO inhibitors sodium azide (0.011 mM) or p-aminobenzohydrazide (0.052.5 mM), the antioxidants apocynin, Tiron, GSH, DMSO (10250 mM), and Trolox or the protease inhibitors Pefabloc SC (0.410 mM), PMSF (0.55 mM), methoxysuccinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Val chloromethylketone and Z-Gly-Leu-Phe chloromethylketone (each at 20360 µM), and eglin C fragment (5100 µM), PMN were preincubated with the respective agent at 4°C for 15 min before being added to the incubation wells. Generally, microtiter plates were incubated in a 37°C water bath for 30 min. Then reactions were stopped by transferring the microtiter plates back onto melting ice. PMN suspension (100 µl) was mixed with 20 µl of the respective FITC-conjugated mAb and left on ice for 45 min. In experiments with RBC subsequent lysis of RBC was performed with ADG flow cytometry lysing solution (An der Grub, Kaumberg, Austria). After washing twice cells were fixed (CellFix, Becton Dickinson, Erembodegem, Belgium), and 5000 cells/sample were analyzed using EPICS XL-MCL flow cytometry and System II software (Coulter, Miami, FL). For supernatant transferal studies PMN were first incubated with or without IMIG in the presence or the absence of native HSA or FITC-conjugated HSA for 30 min, followed by centrifugation in the cold at 600 x g for 6 min. Supernatants were transferred to resting PMN and incubated at 37°C for 30 min, and surface receptor expression or PMN-associated FITC-HSA fluorescence was determined as described above.
Determination of complement activity
The total hemolytic complement activity was assessed by testing the ability of the respective sera to lyse 50% of a standard suspension of sheep erythrocytes coated with optimal amounts of rabbit Ab in a reaction that includes the entire classic activation pathway as well as the terminal sequence (CH50 assay). The quality of C1q-, C3-, and C5-depleted sera used and the efficacy of the heat-inactivating procedure as well as of sCR1 (30 µg/ml)-mediated inhibition of enzymatic C cascade activation in NHS were confirmed by showing absolute nonreactivity in CH50 assays.
Protein-associated carbonyl measurement
The HSA carbonyl content was estimated in supernatants of PMN incubated with or without IMIG using an ELISA as previously described (30). Dinitrophenylhydrazine (Sigma)-reactive carbonyls were detected by anti-DNP rabbit antiserum (Sigma) and a peroxidase-conjugated mouse anti-rabbit Ig mAb (Sigma) (31). Development was performed with o-phenylenediamine. Samples were read against a blank consisting of reagents without HSA and calibrated against a standard curve established by mixing varying proportions of DNP-HSA (Sigma) with native HSA while maintaining a constant protein concentration.
Assessment of neutrophil shape change
Neutrophils were incubated with or without IMIG in the presence or the absence of HSA and Trolox at 37°C for 30 min. Cell-free supernatant (75 µl) were added in duplicate to resting PMN (6.25 x 104 in 25 µl) and incubated in gelatin-coated wells (1 mg/ml gelatin for 3 h at 37°C, followed by washing three times with PBS) of 96-well flat-bottom culture clusters (Costar) at 37°C with occasional agitation. After 30 min PMN morphology was examined by phase contrast microscopy.
Statistics
Statistical analysis for the evaluation of a possible difference in neutrophil receptor expression, HSA-FITC binding, and protein-associated carbonyl formation after PMN stimulation under different conditions was performed by using Students t test. Dose-response data were compared by ANOVA using a randomized block design. Comparison of different doses vs the untreated condition was performed using Dunnetts test. All results are expressed as the mean ± SD and were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05.
| Results |
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As previously demonstrated (19), the neutrophil
oxidative burst is strongly activated by murine monomeric IgG2a in a
Fc
R-dependent way. Similarly, IgG2a immobilized to microtiter plates
to mimic immune complexes markedly induced ROI formation by purified
PMN (Fig. 1
). This effect was due to the
murine IgG2a nature of IMIG, because immobilized IgG2a mouse myeloma
protein activated the PMN oxidative burst to the same extent, in
contrast to murine IgG1, IgG2b, or IgG3.
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In acute inflammation, PMN adhesion and extravasation are preceded
by activation and up-regulation of neutrophil surface CD11b
(1). Thus, CD11b modulation is considered a reliable
marker of cellular activation (6, 7). Incubation of
isolated PMN with IMIG in the presence of NHS, but not PBS, resulted in
significant CD11b up-regulation (Fig. 2
A). Previously, in vivo and
in vitro OKT3/T cell immune complexes (32, 33) as well as
plastic-adsorbed murine IgG2a (34) were reported to
activate the complement system. Moreover, in experiments performed
without PMN, CH50 assays revealed a strong C activation by IMIG in NHS,
but not in HIS, compared with uncoated wells (data not shown). To
define the contribution of the enzymatic C cascade to NHS-dependent
neutrophil CD11b up-regulation by IMIG, we applied HIS devoid of
enzymatic C activity, which, however, resulted in receptor regulations
comparable to the NHS milieu (Fig. 2
A). Also using C1q-,
C3-, or C5-depleted sera instead of NHS did not attenuate IMIG-induced
neutrophil CD11b regulation (data not shown). Moreover, addition of
sCR1 (30 µg/ml) that inhibits activation of both the classical and
alternative pathways of C (35) reduced CD11b modulation in
NHS by not more than 30%, showing no effect in HIS incubations (Fig. 2
A). Consequently, neutrophil CD11b up-regulation by IMIG
depended on the presence of serum constituents without an absolute need
for enzymatic C activation.
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Next, we investigated PMN activation by IMIG in the presence of
isolated serum proteins. Upon PMN stimulation in the presence of either
C4 (50 µg/ml), C5 (70 µg/ml), HSA (150 µg/ml), or HIS (25%),
highly significant up-regulation of CD11b was observed (Fig. 2
, B and C). This effect was dose dependent (C4 or
C5, each at 17150 µg/ml; HSA, 171000 µg/ml), whereas no
significant changes were found in the absence of protein or with C6,
C7, factor H (each at 17150 µg/ml), or gelatin (17450 µg/ml).
The combined use of C4, C5, and HSA showed an additive effect with
respect to neutrophil receptor modulation (data not shown). Experiments
performed with purified C4, C5, C6, C7, and HSA from different sources
yielded similar results (data not shown). In the absence of IMIG, none
of the purified proteins was able to induce significant receptor
modulation.
Up-regulation of CD11b may signify mobilization of secretory vesicles,
gelatinase granules, and specific granules (4). To better
characterize the degranulation process, we also assessed the surface
expression of the activation Ags CD35 (36) and CD66b
(37) as markers for exocytosis of secretory vesicles and
specific granules, respectively (4). As illustrated in
Fig. 3
, these two granule markers showed
a parallel pattern of up-regulation by IMIG in the presence of C4, C5,
HSA, or HIS. Considering the known rank order of granule mobilization
(4, 5), not only secretory vesicles and specific granules,
but also gelatinase granules, appeared to have fused with
the plasma membrane. These results demonstrated that selected serum
proteins were involved in neutrophil stimulation.
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Next, we wondered whether the observed neutrophil receptor modulations with purified C4 or C5 were due to the action of known complement cascade-derived agonists possibly formed during PMN stimulation by IMIG. Incubation of isolated PMN with purified split product C4a or C4b (at 0.031 mM or 250 µg/ml, respectively) did not influence neutrophil CD11b expression (data not shown). Therefore, a contribution of these two candidates to IMIG-induced C4-dependent PMN activation was ruled out.
C5a is known to stimulate neutrophil receptor modulation and chemotaxis
(38). After binding of C5a to its receptor, CD88, the
C5a/CD88 complex is rapidly internalized, transiently diminishing
neutrophil CD88 surface expression (39). To clarify
whether any C5a activity is generated from native C5 when incubated
together with PMN and IMIG (15), we performed C5a receptor
kinetics studies. As shown in Fig. 4
, we
used PMA (10-7 M); FMLP
(10-6 M); IMIG in the presence of PBS, C5 (70
µg/ml), or HSA (150 µg/ml); and CD88-specific PMN activators
(purified C5a and cuprophan-activated NHS containing C5a) and monitored
neutrophil CD88 surface expression. As expected, ligand binding of CD88
resulted in marked CD88 down-regulation, whereas with all other
stimuli, including IMIG in the presence of purified C5, CD88 expression
was elevated compared with that in unstimulated cultures. These data
demonstrated that neutrophil receptor modulation by IMIG and C5 was not
brought about by C5a activity.
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Scavenging of ROIs inhibits protein-dependent neutrophil receptor regulation by immobilized IgG2a
Because oxidants induce a multitude of conformational alterations
in proteins (14, 42, 43, 44), we were interested whether
IMIG-induced PMN-derived ROI had some role in protein-dependent
neutrophil receptor modulation. Antioxidants such as catalase or
glutathione contained within erythrocytes are known to break down
PMN-derived H2O2
(45) and to prevent neutrophil HOCl and hydroxyl radical
formation (46) and ROI-mediated apoptosis
(27). We sought to attenuate the oxidative stress in the
environment of IMIG-stimulated PMN by using autologous RBC at different
PMN/RBC ratios. This markedly reduced/abolished HIS-, HSA-, and
C4-dependent neutrophil CD11b regulation (Fig. 5
A). In contrast, no
significant inhibition of neutrophil CD11b regulation was seen when RBC
with inactivated antioxidant systems (see Materials and
Methods) were used, indicating that ROI were involved (data not
shown). Similar results were obtained for C5-dependent reactions and
with regard to CD66b. In parallel experiments the presence of RBC
dose-dependently increased FMLP-stimulated neutrophil CD11b modulation
(data not shown). FMLP induces PMN-derived ROI that terminate its
chemotactic activity (47). In the presence of RBC, FMLP
appeared to be protected from FMLP-induced ROI to mediate a more
pronounced neutrophil CD11b up-regulation, confirming the strong
antioxidant effect of RBC.
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Hydrogen peroxide mediates serum protein-dependent and -independent neutrophil receptor modulation
In a further series of experiments reagent
H2O2 was added to isolated
PMN. In the absence of protein,
H2O2 mediated CD11b
up-regulation in a dose-dependent fashion. The presence of C4 or HSA
significantly augmented this action of
H2O2 and brought about
considerable neutrophil receptor modulation even at low
H2O2 concentrations that
were ineffective in protein-free milieu (Fig. 6
). Similar results were obtained with
regard to CD66b (data not shown). These direct
H2O2-mediated effects were
independent from the action of PMN-contained MPO and the possible
generation of chlorinated oxidants, because addition of the MPO
inhibitor sodium azide (1 mM) remained without effect (data not shown).
Moreover, exposure of PMN in the presence or the absence of HSA or HIS
to different concentrations of NaOCl did not result in significant
neutrophil CD11b modulation (data not shown). These results identified
H2O2 as an essential
element for serum protein-dependent PMN activation, comparable to
neutrophil receptor modulations by IMIG.
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Because proteins are preferred targets for ROI (43, 52), we sought to clarify whether oxidative protein modification
actually occurred in PMN cultured with IMIG and protein.
Protein-associated carbonyls were determined by ELISA to estimate
oxidative damage (30, 42). Supernatants from PMN
stimulated by IMIG in the presence of HSA contained markedly elevated
carbonyls compared with controls. In contrast, when the tocopherol
analog Trolox (50) was present during PMN activation,
carbonyl levels in supernatants were only minimally increased (Fig. 7
A). This was clear evidence
that oxidative modification of protein was brought about by
IMIG-induced PMN-derived ROI.
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Protein oxidation may lead to altered specific functional activity
(14, 44), protein unfolding (42), or new
binding properties of oxidized proteins, as is the case with oxidized
low density lipoprotein binding to the macrophage scavenger receptor
implicated in atherogenesis. In our experimental setting only
oxidatively modified HSA, but not native HSA, was able to mediate PMN
activation. To investigate the binding behavior of HSA, we prepared
supernatants of PMN incubated with or without IMIG in the presence of
FITC-conjugated HSA. These supernatants were incubated with resting
PMN. Enhanced HSA-FITC binding was only noted when supernatants from
IMIG-stimulated PMN were applied (Fig. 7
B). In contrast,
very low neutrophil binding of HSA-FITC from Trolox-supplemented
supernatants was observed. Thus, oxidative modification of HSA was
essential for HSA binding to PMN as a probable basic condition for the
mediation of PMN stimulation.
Resting neutrophils are activated by oxidatively modified HSA
Additional experiments were performed to investigate the agonistic
effects of oxidized HSA. Supernatants from IMIG-stimulated PMN
containing HSA transferred to resting PMN induced significant CD11b and
CD66b up-regulation. However, no such reaction was evoked by
protein-free supernatants or by supernatants containing HSA that had
been protected against oxidation by Trolox (Fig. 8
). Trolox not already present during
supernatant preparation but added later to resting PMN and stimulatory
HSA-containing supernatant did not interfere with receptor modulation
(data not shown). In contrast, heat-denatured (70°C, 30 min) HSA
added to resting PMN did not influence CD11b expression (data not
shown). These data demonstrated that oxidative modification of HSA was
the key element in IMIG-induced HSA-dependent neutrophil receptor
modulation and degranulation.
|
2 integrins (53, 54)
and require these receptors to be in a high avidity state
(3). Consequently, these findings indicated that
oxidatively modified HSA, in the absence of additional stimuli, caused
structural CD11b/CD66b up-regulation and also suggested integrin
activation in resting PMN.
|
Oxidation of proteins was reported to facilitate proteolytic susceptibility (43, 55). Therefore, IMIG-induced PMN-derived proteases cathepsin G or elastase (56) could possibly degrade oxidized serum proteins and contribute to the observed PMN activation. However, in experiments with IMIG and HSA or C4, no significant influence of the protease inhibitors Pefabloc SC or PMSF or of cathepsin G- (Z-Gly-Leu-Phe chloromethylketone) and elastase-specific inhibitors (methoxysuccinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Val chloromethylketone and eglin C fragment) on CD11b modulation was detected (data not shown).
| Discussion |
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In recent years data have accumulated on the contribution of ROI to the
development of various disease states, such as ARDS (16, 21), atherosclerosis (17), chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (18), sepsis (24), or side
effects of hemodialysis (20, 29) and mAb treatment
(19). The therapeutically used anti-CD3 mAb OKT3
strongly induces the neutrophil oxidative burst in a strictly
IgG2a-dependent Fc
R-mediated fashion (19). It was
speculated that this massive ROI release could be involved in the
frequently occurring first dose effects of OKT3, characterized by
adhesive activation of PMN and sequestration in the pulmonary
microvasculature, pulmonary compromise, and neutropenia (32, 33, 57).
In this investigation Fc
R cross-linking by IMIG was used as model
for immune complex-mediated PMN activation. As shown by comparison with
different mouse myeloma isotypes, IMIG strongly stimulated the
oxidative burst by virtue of its IgG2a properties. In contrast to the
release of ROI, a marked CD11b up-regulation by IMIG was seen only in
the presence of serum. The enzymatic complement cascade appeared not to
be essential for receptor modulation, because the presence of HIS
devoid of enzymatic C activity, or human sera depleted of single C
components resulted in similar CD11b up-regulation. Moreover, the
application of sCR1 reliably inhibiting C3/C5 convertases of both the
classical and alternative pathway of C activation effected only minor
inhibition of CD11b up-regulation in NHS incubations. Interestingly,
both the time range and extent of neutrophil CD11b up-regulation in our
experiments were comparable to reactions found in OKT3-treated patients
(57).
Obviously, serum constituents were essential for IMIG-induced PMN receptor modulation. Indeed, the presence of purified serum protein C4, C5, or HSA was found to suffice to mediate neutrophil activation by IMIG. With each of these proteins, we observed a marked IMIG-induced CD11b up-regulation suggestive of PMN adhesive activation and significantly increased surface CD35 and CD66b expression as markers for exocytosis of secretory vesicles and specific granules, respectively (4). This was due to individual protein structure, as the presence of other proteins, such as C6, C7, factor H, or gelatin, tested over a wide concentration range, was not able to induce significant neutrophil receptor modulation by IMIG. Notably, C4 and C5 are very similar in sequence and overall organization, as are C6 and C7 (58). Additionally, the Mr of effective proteins could play a modifying role, as smaller HSA had to be applied at higher concentration to produce PMN reactions of equal magnitude, compared with the bigger molecules C4 or C5, already effective at lower concentrations.
Interestingly, whether a protein displayed stimulating properties in our experimental setting did not correlate with the adhesive propensity of PMN to the individual native protein, as deduced from studies by DiScipio and coworkers (59), who reported on spontaneous adhesion of PMN to factor H and rather low binding to native C6, HSA, C5, and C7 (in descending order of affinity). In our assays, C4, C5, and HSA did not significantly modulate PMN receptor expression in the absence of IMIG. Therefore, factors released by IMIG-activated PMN appeared to be responsible for conformational changes in native C4, C5, and HSA, enabling PMN to recognize altered proteins, which then activated signaling pathways responsible for receptor modulation.
We provided evidence that no known C4 or C5 split product activity was responsible for PMN stimulation in the presence of purified C proteins. Because HSA was also very effective, we assume that these proteins acquire their activating potential via a common mechanism. Oxidants released from IMIG-stimulated PMN were promising candidates for protein modification to an activatory conformation, similar to C5-dependent PMN activation via ROI induced by the dialyzer material cuprophan (29). The profile of ROI species released is characteristic for individual pathways of neutrophil oxidative burst activation, with immobilized Ig inducing particularly large amounts of H2O2 (60). Different ROI species released by cuprophan- or IMIG-stimulated PMN (possibly predominantly HOCl vs predominantly H2O2) could explain differential serum protein requirements (C5 vs a number of selected proteins, including C4, C5, and HSA) for neutrophil receptor modulation.
On the basis of experiments using a panel of antioxidants with
differential ROI specificity, we concluded that mainly
H2O2 was operative in
IMIG-provoked PMN activation. Indeed, exposure of PMN to
H2O2 in the absence of
protein resulted in a dose-dependent CD11b and CD66b up-regulation,
starting at a H2O2
concentration of 100 µM. This is compatible with an earlier study
that reported on increased neutrophil
2
integrin expression by similar amounts of
H2O2 (11).
Importantly, the presence of either C4 or HSA considerably triggered
H2O2-dependent CD11b/CD66b
up-regulation, especially at
H2O2 concentrations that
were too low to modulate receptor expression in the absence of protein.
This closely resembled IMIG-activated neutrophil surface receptor
dynamics, leading to our speculation that cumulative
H2O2 levels in experiments
with IMIG were ranged from 30 to 100 µM, values that had previously
been encountered in close vicinity of stimulated PMN (45, 61).
Our suspicion that PMN activation could be induced by ROI-mediated protein modification was supported by enhanced carbonyl formation in supernatants of PMN incubated with HSA and IMIG (62). The increase in carbonyls under these conditions was abolished by Trolox, a water-soluble tocopherol analog reported to efficiently protect proteins against oxidation (50). Because IMIG-induced carbonyl levels were not as excessively increased as in HOCl-mediated HSA oxidation (63), these data suggested that H2O2 was the relevant ROI species. A possible proteolytic degradation of oxidized proteins (55) was not involved in protein-dependent PMN activation by IMIG, as judged from studies with a panel of protease inhibitors, including selective elastase and cathepsin G inhibitors.
In parallel with HSA-associated carbonyl formation by IMIG-induced ROI,
HSA-FITC exhibited oxidation-dependent binding to PMN. Furthermore,
neutrophil CD11b and CD66b up-regulation was seen not only in PMN
incubations with ROI-inducing IMIG and HSA, but also in a paracrine
setting where supernatants from PMN stimulated by IMIG in the presence
of HSA were transferred to unstimulated PMN. Thus, oxidized HSA
mediated PMN activation independent from additional stimulation.
Supernatant transferal experiments also revealed that oxidized HSA
mediated activation-dependent neutrophil spreading on gelatin surfaces.
The latter was reported to depend on
2
integrins (53, 54), thus arguing for integrin activation
in addition to CD11b modulation. As with carbonyl formation, Trolox
efficiently inhibited all protein-dependent PMN reactions, provided
this agent was present during PMN stimulation by IMIG. These results
confirmed the oxidative genesis of protein-dependent PMN activation by
IMIG and identified oxidized HSA as a potent stimulatory agonist of
resting PMN.
In the course of oxidative protein modification, proteins obviously
acquired new binding properties for PMN as a prerequisite for signaling
and PMN activation. Methionine sulfoxide as well as protein carbonyl
and bityrosine formation, loss of amino acids, and amino acid
interconversion have been reported as oxidative protein modifications,
leading to changes in overall charge, folding, and hydrophobicity
(44, 55, 64). The resultant oxidative denaturation, i.e.,
alterations of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure
(55), appears to facilitate subsequent protein binding to
PMN (65, 66). In IMIG and
H2O2 experiments, C4, C5,
and HSA probably acquired PMN-stimulating conformation by undergoing
oxidative denaturation, because proteins not exposed to or protected
against ROI were not stimulatory. As denaturing events usually produce
largely unpredictable conformational alterations and heterogeneous
products, it is difficult to propose probable receptor/ligand
interactions that are responsible for protein-dependent PMN activation.
Previously, denatured, but not native, HSA was identified as a
chemotactic agonist for PMN (65, 67). Denatured HSA
effected protease release from PMN and bound to the PMN cell surface in
a saturable manner, suggestive of interaction with distinct receptors
(68). Indeed, neutrophil CD11b/CD18 and CD11c/CD18
integrins were demonstrated to mediate adhesion to different denatured
protein substrates by recognizing common denatured protein epitopes
(69). Recognition of oxidatively denatured proteins by
integrins could well serve as an explanation for induction of
protein-dependent PMN responses by IMIG. We propose that C4, C5, and
HSA proteins undergo ROI-mediated conformational alterations and are
bound by neutrophil receptors, presumably members of the
2 integrin family. Upon modified
protein/
2 integrin interaction, intracellular
signaling may be initiated that could lead to PMN stimulation.
Importantly, all protein-dependent PMN reactions observed in this
investigation, such as integrin up-regulation, degranulation, and
neutrophil spreading, are compatible with
2
integrin signaling (70, 71).
In conclusion, local PMN-induced oxidative alteration of serum proteins may represent a general autocrine and paracrine proinflammatory enhancer mechanism for PMN activation and accumulation at the site of inflammation. Microvascular stasis conditions, neutrophil burst induction, and resultant serum protein oxidation may augment neutrophil extravasation via adhesion molecule regulation. Similarly, serum proteins exuded into the interstitium could be modified by locally produced oxidants and may direct extravascular neutrophil movement toward the center of inflammation. The biological relevance of oxidative protein modification awaits future in vivo elucidation. However, it could be reflected by the recent discovery of highly elevated levels of oxidized proteins in various pathological conditions, including ARDS (26), sepsis, major trauma (24), uremia (63), asthma (23), bronchitis (22), and prematurity (25). On the basis of our results, we propose that oxidatively modified serum proteins may be not only a manifestation of collateral damage by PMN-derived ROI (10), but also proinflammatory mediators of neutrophil stimulation.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Günther Körmöczi, Institute of Immunology, Borschkegasse 8a, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: PMN, polymorphonuclear neutrophilic granulocytes; ROI, reactive oxygen intermediates; MPO, myeloperoxidase; ARDS, adultrespiratory distress syndrome; HSA, human serum albumin; DCFH-DA, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate; sCR1, soluble CR1; NHS, normal human serum; HIS, heat-inactivated serum; IMIG, immobilized OKT3; GSH, reduced glutathione. ![]()
Received for publication January 25, 2001. Accepted for publication April 17, 2001.
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