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Human neutrophils treated with low concentrations of the homobifunctional cross-linking reagents disuccinimidyl suberate and dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) failed to generate superoxide in response to any of several stimuli, including phorbol myristate acetate, fMet-Leu-Phe, A23187, fluoride, and opsonized zymosan. The cross-linking reagent interfered with the activation of NADPH oxidase, but not with its activity. Cells treated with succinimidyl butyrate, a monovalent analog of the cross-linkers, underwent a normal respiratory burst. Cross-linking also inhibited degranulation, phagocytosis, and fluorescence responses of potential-sensitive dyes but had little effect on lactate production, sugar transport, the binding of fMet-Leu-Phe, or the activity of various enzymes in the cross-linked neutrophils. Most of the cellular functions inhibited through the reaction of neutrophils with the cleavable cross-linker dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) could be restored by reduction of the disulfide bonds of the cell-bound cross-linker with dithiothreitol.

Thrombin stimulation of human platelets initiates a membrane depolarization attributable to a Na+ influx into, and an alkalinization of, the cytoplasm, both of which follow a similar rapid time scale and thrombin-dose dependence. These responses precede secretion of the contents of the dense granules (serotonin) and, after 1 minute, of lysosomes (beta-glucuronidase). We have evaluated these parameters in the presence of 2H2O in order to determine if the Na+ influx and H+ efflux are sequential or simultaneous. NMR evidence indicates that 2H2O equilibration in rapid, and virtually complete within the 3 min prestimulation platelet equilibration period. In response to an 0.05 U/ml addition of thrombin, the rate of depolarization is 70-80% slower in 2H2O than in H2O. The time to reach maximal depolarization is 5 to 10 seconds longer in 2H2O, the extent of depolarization 60% inhibited, and the pH change 85% inhibited. The serotonin secretion is unaltered, while the beta-glucuronidase secretion is 130-180% enhanced. Dimethylamiloride inhibits the Na+ influx and the pH change completely. These results suggest that the Na+ and H+ fluxes across the plasma membrane are interdependent but neither simultaneous nor electroneutral. Furthermore, granule secretion, previously shown by us to be independent of the existent Na+ gradient, depends on the cytoplasmic K+ and H+ concentrations.

The cytochrome b 245 of human neutrophils was reduced when the neutrophils under anaerobic conditions were stimulated by serum-treated zymosan, immune complexes, or phorbol myristate acetate. Reintroduction of oxygen rapidly reoxidized the cytochrome; azide was without effect on any of these reactions. This indicates that cytochrome b 245 participates in the respiratory burst of neutrophils.

We have defined major differences between events elicited during activation of human neutrophils by opsonized Candida hyphae (noningestible) or zymosan (ingestible) and by unopsonized Candida hyphae (also noningestible). In response to opsonized particles, a transient increase in cytosolic free calcium was initially observed, followed by depolarization in the transmembrane potential and a respiratory burst. Without opsonins, zymosan did not elicit a response from neutrophils. In contrast, unopsonized Candida hyphae elicited a transient increase in cytosolic calcium, as well as triggered a respiratory burst; they did not, however, elicit a depolarization of the neutrophil membrane. Furthermore, the rate of superoxide generation decreased after a prolonged lag period. The calcium flux was also delayed and coincided with the onset of superoxide generation. Thus, our data demonstrate that Candida albicans hyphae activate neutrophils in the absence of added serum components and initiate a neutrophil respiratory burst without an antecedent membrane depolarization.

Human platelets stimulated by epinephrine undergo enhanced turnover of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, accumulate inositol trisphosphate, diacylglycerol, and phosphatidic acid, and phosphorylate a 47-kDa protein. All of these phenomena indicate stimulation of phospholipase C. These responses are blocked completely by inhibitors of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors (yohimbine), cyclooxygenase (aspirin or indomethacin), phospholipase A [2-(p-amylcinnamoyl)amino-4-chlorobenzoic acid (ONO-RS-082)], Na+/H+ exchange [ethylisopropylamiloride (EIPA)], fibrinogen binding to glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (antibody A2A9), Ca2+/Mg+ binding (EDTA), or removal of fibrinogen. Epinephrine evokes (i) an increased turnover of ester-linked arachidonic acid in aspirin treated platelets that is inhibited by ONO-RS-082, EDTA, yohimbine, or the absence of fibrinogen and (ii) a rapid cytoplasmic alkalinization that is inhibited partially by blockage of cyclooxygenase activity and completely by A2A9 or EIPA. In contrast, when incubated with subaggregatory concentrations of the prostaglandin H2/thromboxane A2 analogue [(15S)-hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic acid (U46619) and epinephrine, aspirin-treated platelets show a potentiation of phospholipase C activation that is unaffected by the above inhibitors. We propose that epinephrine, in promoting exposure of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa sites for fibrinogen binding, leads to a cytoplasmic alkalinization, which, in conjunction with local shifts in Ca2+, promotes low-level activation of phospholipase A. The resulting free arachidonic acid is converted to cyclooxygenase products, which, potentiated by epinephrine, activate phospholipase C. This further amplifies the initial stimulatory response.

Investigations in this laboratory have demonstrated that thrombin induces dose-dependent changes in the transmembrane electrical potential of gel-filtered human platelets. This change is monitored with the fluorescent lipophilic cation, 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine (diS-C3-(5], whose rapid release from the platelet (maximal within 30 s) correlates with a rapid, dose-dependent influx of sodium, a depolarization, and an increase in the intracellular pH. There is also a later release of this probe, detectable only 60 s after activation by thrombin. It is shown that this latter probe release is also thrombin dose dependent, and correlates in time course and extent with the secretion of beta-glucuronidase from the platelet's lysosomal granules, implying that it corresponds to probe sequestered in these granules in the resting platelet. Such a conclusion is corroborated by the fact that both the thrombin-induced secondary release of diS-C3-(5) and the secretion of the lysosomal enzyme, beta-glucuronidase, are inhibitable to the same extent by pretreatment of the probe-equilibrated platelets with valinomycin, a K+ ionophore, are partially inhibited to a comparable extent when thrombin is removed from the platelet membrane by an excess of hirudin within 15 s of activation, and are unaffected by amiloride, a Na+ blocking agent. We suggest therefore that some of the membrane potential probe diS-C3-(5) is accumulated by the platelet lysosomal granules and is secreted when the platelets are stimulated by the high doses of thrombin which induce lysosomal enzyme secretion. This secondary dye release is linearly proportional to, and can be used as a continuous and quantitative indicator of, the thrombin-induced lysosomal enzyme secretion by human platelets.

Thrombin-induced stimulation of human platelets is accompanied by a dramatic increase in cytoplasmic calcium concentrations followed by a slow decrease. These changes are very rapid, are maximal by 10-15 s, and can be detected with probes such as Indo-1. Suspension studies using spectrofluorometry, which reflect a value which is the average of 3 x 10(7) cells per ml, indicate a thrombin dose-dependent increase in cytoplasmic calcium at doses up to 0.025 units per ml. We show here, using flow cytometry, that at less than half-saturating thrombin doses only subpopulations of platelets rather than the entire sample are responding. The extent of these responses, however, still depends on thrombin concentration. When the thrombin doses are between half and fully saturating, one subpopulation responds fully (i.e., its extent of increase in cytoplasmic calcium concentration, [Ca++]in is 100% of that seen at saturating thrombin concentrations) while the remaining platelets respond partially or not at all. There is thus evidence of positive cooperativity leading to disproportionate thrombin receptor occupancy on different subpopulations when platelets are subjected to subsaturating doses of thrombin. The existence of responding subpopulations may explain how the reported multiple stimulations of the same suspension of platelets at low thrombin doses occur.

Nonopsonized Candida hyphae elicit from human neutrophils a transient rise in cytosolic calcium concentrations and an oxidative burst without a detectable change in membrane potential. To determine if the signal-transduction pathway used by these organisms is mediated by guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (GNPs), we examined the functional responsiveness of neutrophils pretreated with pertussis toxin (PT). In response to serum-opsonized hyphae or zymosan, the rise in cytosolic calcium, membrane depolarization, and the respiratory burst were only partially abrogated. The transient rise in calcium induced by unopsonized hyphae was, however, completely eliminated in PT-treated neutrophils. Despite total abrogation of the calcium response, PT-treated cells could still mount a respiratory burst in response to these nonopsonized hyphae. Thus, neutrophil signaling by both serum-opsonized particles and nonopsonized hyphae is only partially mediated by PT-sensitive GNPs. Furthermore, the ability of unopsonized hyphae to elicit a respiratory burst without a calcium response suggests these events are separable and confirms the versatility of these organisms as probes for investigating neutrophil activation.

Flavonoids are a class of phenolic plant pigments which impair the oxidative burst of neutrophils to an extent dependent on their hydrophobicity. The distribution of quercetin and of morin in nitrogen-cavitated neutrophils paralleled their respective hydrophobic characteristics and respiratory burst inhibition. While both flavonoids were localized primarily in the specific granule membrane of neutrophils, the amount of quercetin was considerably greater than that of morin. We here demonstrate inhibition of the initial stimulation response, depolarization of the membrane potential as monitored by fluorescence of the membrane probe diS-C3-(5), and of the respiratory burst, monitored by following the destruction of diS-C3-(5), a reaction mediated by the H2O2 produced in the burst. The flavonoids kaempferol, morin, quercetin, or fisetin were preincubated with human neutrophils at a concentration of 100 microM per 2 X 10(6) cells/ml for 2-3 min and subsequently stimulated with 1 microgram/ml of the tumor promoter phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or with 60 micrograms/ml of immune complex. The effect of each compound differed, i.e. depolarization was enhanced by some and inhibited by others, while H2O2 generation was inhibited by each, supporting our previous findings that membrane potential depolarization and the respiratory burst are dissociable events. Concentration-response experiments, performed at flavonoid concentrations between 12.5 and 500 microM to determine the IC50 values of these compounds for depolarization and burst activation, indicated that none of the flavonoids affected the resting potential, while all perturbed the stimulus-coupled response, the direction and extent of the perturbation depending upon the stimulus, and the function assessed. These data show that the effects of flavonoids on human neutrophils are complex and suggest several sites of action depending upon the flavonoid's subcellular distribution and pathway of stimulation.

Activation of normal or myeloperoxidase-deficient human granulocytes by phorbol myristate acetate resulted in an initial membrane depolarization as indicated by an increase in fluorescence of the lipophilic cation probe of membrane potential, 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine. A subsequent apparent hyperpolarization (decrease in fluorescence) was observed in normal but not myeloperoxidase-deficient cells. Addition of purified myeloperoxidase restored a normal pattern of fluorescence changes to the enzyme-deficient granulocytes. The secondary decrease in fluorescence in normal cells was markedly blunted by addition of azide, cyanide, or catalase. In a cell-free system, the fluorescence of 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine, but not that of 3,3'-dipentyloxadicarbocyanine, was rapidly eliminated by myeloperoxidase in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and a halide; this loss of fluorescence was inhibited by azide, cyanide, or catalase. These findings indicate that secretion of myeloperoxidase and hydrogen peroxide by activated granulocytes results in decreased fluorescence of 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine, probably by thioether oxidation. While the determination of initial rates of depolarization using this probe is unaffected by the myeloperoxidase system, measurement of extent of depolarization and any subsequent membrane potential changes requires the addition of inhibitors. In the absence of inhibitors, the secondary decrease in fluorescence can be used as an indicator of secretion of myeloperoxidase and hydrogen peroxide.

An important characteristic of the functional differentiation of the blood monocyte is the development of its capacity to recognize and respond to stimuli. This ability is mediated to a large extent by specific receptor glycoproteins located on the cell surface. Stimulation of mononuclear phagocytes via these receptors results in a rapid rise in intracellular Ca++ concentration, accompanied or followed by a change in membrane potential, generation of oxidative products, degranulation, and effector functions such as phagocytosis, aggregation, or locomotion. While the development of these characteristics is difficult to characterize in vivo, several investigators have demonstrated in vitro changes in these cells that correlate with the development of effector function. To examine the mechanisms of specific membrane-stimulus interactions of monocytes as they differentiate into macrophage-like cells, we studied the responses of human monocytes and of monocytes incubated in serum-containing medium for up to 96 hr to the chemotactic peptide formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Freshly isolated monocytes exhibited little change in transmembrane potential following stimulation with an optimal concentration of peptide and underwent a significant increase only after 48 hr in culture. While constant resting intracellular Ca++ concentrations were maintained during the culture period, intracellular Ca++ levels following fMLP stimulation increased with with incubation in serum, for up to 96 hr. In contrast, fMLP-induced respiratory burst activity increased from 0 to 24 hr in culture; it remained elevated at 48 hr but declined again by 96 hr. Incubation of the cells for 24 hr increased their random (unstimulated) motility in modified Boyden chambers but did not alter the cells' directed (chemotactic) response to fMLP in comparison to the response of freshly isolated monocytes. Peptide binding to the cells did not increase during the incubation period, indicating that an increase in receptor number or in affinity for fMLP was not responsible for the enhanced responsiveness to fMLP as incubation time increased. These studies indicate that incubation of monocytes in serum-containing medium leads to a complex, altered series of responses to fMLP that correlate with the differentiation of the original monocytes in vitro and may relate to the in vivo differentiation of monocytes to macrophages.

We describe a new method for subcellular fractionation of human neutrophils. Neutrophils were disrupted by nitrogen cavitation and the nuclei removed by centrifugation. The postnuclear supernatant was applied on top of a discontinuous Percoll density gradient. Centrifugation for 15 min at 48,000 g resulted in complete separation of plasma membranes, azurophil granules, and specific granules. As determined by ultrastructure and the distribution of biochemical markers of these organelles, approximately 90% of the b-cytochrome in unstimulated cells was recovered from the band containing the specific granules and was shown to be in or tightly associated with the membrane. During stimulation of intact neutrophils with phorbol myristate acetate or the ionophore A23187, we observed translocation of 40-75% of the b-cytochrome to the plasma membrane. The extent of this translocation closely paralleled release of the specific granule marker, vitamin B12-binding protein. These data indicate that the b-cytochrome is in the membrane of the specific granules of unstimulated neutrophils and that stimulus-induced fusion of these granules with the plasma membrane results in a translocation of the cytochrome. Our observations provide a basis for the assembly of the microbicidal oxidase of the human neutrophil.

T lymphocytes from aged donors function poorly, but the biochemical basis for the defect remains uncertain. We tested the hypothesis that T cells from old mice had a diminished ability to transmit extracellular signals into the cytoplasm, by measuring intracellular free calcium concentrations (Cai) in T cells stimulated by the polyclonal activator concanavalin A (Con A). Using the second-generation fluorochrome indo-1 as a reporter of Cai, we found that the Con A-induced elevation of Cai levels is reduced both in rate and extent in old T cells, as compared to T cells from young mice. Flow cytometric analysis showed that this age-sensitive change represents a decline, with age, in the number of T cells that can respond to Con A by increasing their Cai above resting baseline levels (100-120 nM). These results thus show that defects in activation are manifested by T cells from old donors within the first 5 minutes of the activation process, and suggest that aging may lead to alterations either in the surface molecules that receive extracellular signals, or in the sequence of coupled events by which these extracellular signals bring about alterations in the intracellular ionic milieu.

Rat tail tendon collagen-initiated platelet aggregation exhibits a collagen age-dependent lag time. This lag time is an inverse function of the previously determined rate of fibril formation of collagen, and corresponds to the elapsed time necessary to form a collagen fibril of requisite size under the platelet aggregation conditions chosen. Such fibers exhibit native spacing and appear to be 45 to 90 A in diameter. Fibers preformed to that size (less than 2 min for 21- to 1,100-day-old collagen), no matter what the age of the collagen, give rise to identical platelet aggregations. Fibers formed after more prolonged incubation, greater than or equal to 20 min, have impaired platelet aggregating ability.

In granulocytes harvested from human blood, an elevation of the cytosolic concentration of Ca2+ ions is by itself insufficient to activate the cell's respiratory burst. We report herein that, when granulocytes are "primed" by a 90-min preincubation with the recombinant human hemopoietic growth factor granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSFrh), elevation of the concentration of cytosolic Ca2+ ions ([Ca2+]i) becomes a more effective transduction signal capable of triggering the generation of substantial quantities of superoxide (O2-) anions by the cell. In these studies, we used four separate and independent maneuvers to induce elevation of [Ca2+]i: 1) depolarization of the cell's electrical potential through obliteration of the transmembrane Na+ and K+ gradients; 2) acidification of the cytoplasm using propionic acid; 3) addition of the calcium ionophore ionomycin; and 4) treatment of the cells with the monoclonal antibody to the C3bi receptor, PMN7C3. In all cases, elevation of [Ca2+]i through these manipulations resulted in the release of substantially greater quantities of O2- by GM-CSFrh-primed granulocytes than by unprimed, control cells. The generation of O2- was in all cases markedly reduced by chelation of either intracellular Ca2+ with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid or extracellular Ca2+ with [ethylene-bis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid. We conclude that during the process of GM-CSFrh priming, the metabolic assembly responsible for O2- anion production in the granulocyte becomes altered in such a way that a subsequent elevation in [Ca2+]i provides a potent signal for its activation.

The effects of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) deficiency on membrane properties of platelets were studied to determine if vitamin E has a measureable stabilizing role in biological membranes. Three groups of rats and three of mice were studied: two groups consisted of Fisher strain rats and one of Sprague-Dawley rats fed a Draper corn oil diet with and without high levels of supplementary vitamin E. The mice were two groups of BALB/c animals maintained on an 8% hydrogenated coconut oil diet, and one group of CBA/J mice on an 8% lard diet, in each case either deficient in or supplemented with vitamin E. The relative content of fatty acids obtained from both rat platelets and erythrocytes was unchanged by vitamin E deficiency. Depletion of vitamin E had no effect on the degree of fluorescence polarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5,-hexatriene-labeled rat platelets. No changes in hematocrit values were seen in any of the studies. The platelet count of only the vitamin E-deficient Sprague-Dawley rats was elevated with respect to vitamin E-supplemented counterparts; the others remained constant. Platelet reactivities, as measured by ADP-and thrombin-induced platelet aggregation and by the thrombin-induced changes in platelet transmembrane potential, were unaffected by vitamin E deficiency in all three groups of rats. Our results indicate that a membrane stabilizing effect of vitamin E on rat platelet or erythrocyte membrane fatty acids or on platelet response to external stimuli could not be demonstrated, nor was elevation in platelet count a general phenomenon associated with vitamin E deficiency.-Whitin, J. C., R. K. Gordon, L. M. Corwin, and E. R. Simons. The effect of vitamin E deficiency on some platelet membrane properties.

alpha-Thrombin has previously been shown to bind to specific, saturable glycoproteins on the platelet surface. Modification of the thrombin active site with tosyllysyl chloromethyl ketone (TosLysCH2Cl) does not alter thrombin's binding characteristics. Interaction of alpha-thrombin with high-affinity binding sites (KD = 10(-9) M) initiates the platelet response which involves proteolytic hydrolysis of this glycoprotein. Although TosLysCH2Cl--thrombin binds to and competes for the same sites as alpha-thrombin, it cannot induce platelet stimulation because it is enzymatically inactive. In this study, we describe the preparation and application of photoreactive tritium-labeled thrombin analogues. The alpha-thrombin derivative retains its platelet-stimulating and enzymatic activities and, upon photoactivation, covalently binds to specific platelet membrane components. When freshly washed human platelets are exposed to less than saturation doses (less than or equal to 2 nM) of the thrombin derivatives in the dark and photoactivated, a single labeled complex is detected. The same experiment with greater than saturating doses (greater than or equal to 20 nM) of the thrombin derivative yields a similar complex as well as two additional ones. Molecular weight estimates of these thrombin-bound complexes were obtained by gel filtration and NaDodSO4--polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The low dose (high affinity) complex with TosLysCH2Cl--thrombin has an approximate molecular weight of 200 000, while that with active alpha-thrombin is smaller, approximately 120 000, due to enzymatic cleavage. The additional complexes detected with the high thrombin dose had estimated molecular weights of 400 000 and 46 000, respectively, and appeared to be the same for TosLysCH2Cl--thrombin and for the alpha-thrombin coupled platelets. These isolated complexes appear to correspond to the two previously detected populations of thrombin binding sites on the platelet.

Circular dichroism and difference spectroscopy have been used to study dilute aqueous solutions of oxygenated, deoxygenated, and carbamoylated deoxygenated hemoglobins A and S (HbA and HbS, respectively). The spectra of HbA and HbS, in comparable state of oxygenation or carbamoylation, are identical, strongly implying identical conformations about the heme groups of the respective proteins. The spectra of the oxygenated forms change little upon addition of KCNO, which is known to carbamoylate the NH2 terminals of the individual chains (Cerami and Manning, 1971). The spectra of the deoxygenated forms, on the other hand, are markedly altered. The decreased magnitude of the 430-nm extremum with increased cyanate concentration can be used to calculate an addition curve which becomes asymptotic at a cyanate:heme molar ratio of approximately 10(3). This conformational change occurs in the absence of O2 and has been predicted (Njikam et al.,1973); it can also be demonstrated by difference spectroscopy techniques, whereby a comparable addition curve can be constructed from changes in the 555-nm absorption, while the 541-nm absorption remains invariant. The change described corresponds to the formation of a new conformation, corresponding to carbamoyldeoxyhemoglobin, carrying one carbamoyl group per chain. In the presence of a small quantity of oxygen, however, the above reported changes in CD are accompanied by a concomitant rise in the 415-nm peak-corresponding to the formation of oxyhemoglobin-while those in the difference spectra reflect not only a change in the 555-nm band but also a parallel one at 541 nm, confirming the formation of oxyhemoglobin. Thus the conformation achieved upon carbamoylation of deoxyhemoglobin has the higher oxygen affinity predicted by Nigen et al. (1974) for carbamoyldeoxyhemoglobin. Cyanate has been used (Cerami and Manning, 1971) as an antisickling reagent in vivo and in vitro, but, although it has been shown that it binds covalently to the NH2-terminal residues of hemoglobin (Lee and Manning, 1973), its effect on hemoglobin conformation has not been previously shown nor has its mechanism of action been fully clarified. The results presented here show that the effect of cyanate on hemoglobin is the formation of a new conformation with heightened oxygen affinity. Since oxyHbS does not aggregate while deoxyHbS does, in a temperature-dependent fashion, the formation of carbamoyldeoxyHbS interferes with such aggregation in vitro in deoxygenated samples. In vivo, where there are generally low residual concentrations of O2, the formation of oxyHb is favored by the higher O2 affinity of carbamoyldeoxyHbS, and aggregation with concomitant red cell sickling is therefore disfavored.

When human granulocytes that have been primed with recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSFrh) are activated by ligands that stimulate the respiratory burst, the amount of superoxide anion (O2-) they generate is significantly increased. We have found that the accelerated rate of O2- release occurring under these conditions is accompanied by an antecedent increase in membrane depolarization. We examined the nature of the enhancement of membrane depolarization in GM-CSFrh-primed granulocytes and investigated its relationship to the increase in O2- generation by N-formyl methionylleucylphenylalanine (fMLP)-activated granulocytes. We found that augmented depolarization could not be accounted for by a change in the resting membrane potential induced by the growth factor and was still present after either blocking passive transmembrane Na+ movement with dimethylamiloride or by increasing the membrane's permeability to K+ with valinomycin. When their ability to depolarize was virtually eliminated by dissipating the transmembrane K+ gradient, GM-CSFrh-pretreated cells continued to generate more O2- after fMLP than did control cells. These results indicate that augmentation of the granulocyte's ability to generate O2- anions, which is induced by priming with GM-CSFrh, is independent both of the resting transmembrane potential and of alterations in the extent of membrane potential change induced by stimuli such as fMLP.

The conformational changes upon anaerobic carbamyl phosphate addition to dilute hemoglobin solutions have been studied by means of circular dichroism. Freshly prepared carbamyl phosphate stabilizes the conformation of pure deoxyhemoglobin without detectable NH2-terminal carbamylation. Addition of preincubated (i.e. partially converted to cyanate) carbamyl phosphate, however, results in such carbamylation and in the formation of the conformationally different carbamyldeoxyhemoglobin which exhibits enhanced oxygen affinity. Fresh carbamyl phosphate carbamylates hemoglobin in deoxygenated hemolysates containing erythrocyte phosphatases. Therefore the reversal of SS erythrocyte sickling by carbamyl phosphate is attributable to carbamylation by the carbamyl phosphate hydrolysis product, cyanate.

Human plasma galactoglycoprotein (Mr = 81,000) which was recently identified and characterized (Schmid, K., Mao, S. K. Y., Kimura, A., Hayashi, S., and Binette , J. P. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 3221-3226) was found to possess an unusually high carbohydrate content (76%) comprised of NeuAc, Gal, Man, Fuc, GalNAc, and GlcNAc. The aim of the present investigation was to elucidate the primary structure of the oligosaccharide units of this protein. For the study of the O-glycosidic oligosaccharide chains, the protein was subjected to beta-elimination and the resulting oligosaccharide preparations were analyzed by 500-MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy. The structure of the predominant glycan, a hexasaccharide: (formula; see text) and that of a tetrasaccharide: NeuAc alpha(2----3)Gal beta(1----3)[NeuAc alpha (2----6)]GalNAc-ol, were determined. The protein possesses approximately 40 hexasaccharides and 3 tetrasaccharides/mol. For the isolation of its N-glycosidic oligosaccharide chains, the protein was exhaustively digested with proteases followed by chromatography of the desialyzed resulting glycopeptide fraction on concanavalin A-Sepharose. 500-MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy of the obtained preparations revealed the presence of 3 diantennary N-glycosidic chains that are extended with a Fuc residue at the Asn-linked GlcNAc.

Human neutrophils generate a respiratory burst with the elaboration of toxic oxygen metabolites upon appropriate stimulation. Subsequent to receptor-ligand interaction, the activation pathway of this burst is unknown. Here, attempts to correlate phospholipid turnover have demonstrated dissociation of lipid flux and burst activation. Quinacrine inhibited membrane depolarization, superoxide (O-2) generation, and net phosphatidylserine production with ID50-values of 16 microM and greater than 500 microM, respectively. The inhibitory profiles of these neutrophil activation parameters demonstrate a dissociation between membrane depolarization, respiratory burst stimulation, and phospholipid turnover.

Thrombin causes a dose-dependent depolarization of the transmembrane potential of normal human platelets which can be continuously measured by the fluorescent probe, 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine, whose distribution across the plasma membrane has been shown to be dependent upon the membrane potential. The dose-dependent depolarization of the platelet's negative membrane potential by thrombin is in large part due to a rapid uptake of sodium. Both the membrane potential change and the rapid sodium influx can be inhibited by a fast acting analog of amiloride, a sodium channel blocker, while valinomycin, a potassium ionophore, has no effect on the potential change nor on the sodium uptake, suggesting that the transmembrane potassium gradient is not important in the thrombin-induced depolarization. Neither the secretion of serotonin nor that of lysosomal enzymes nor the secondary release of the fluorescent probe which correlates with the lysosomal enzyme secretion occur if treatment with valinomycin precedes activation by thrombin. It is thus apparent that: 1) the change in the membrane potential induced by thrombin is directly dependent upon the transmembrane sodium gradient and is primarily due to a dose-dependent sodium uptake by the platelets; and 2) the thrombin-induced secretory processes are dependent upon maintenance of the transmembrane potassium gradients.

The activation of human neutrophils by chemotactic peptides evokes a rapid change in membrane potential and an increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels. These events are followed up to a minute later by detectable levels of microbicidal agents formed by the oxidative burst. Except for the latter, the sequence of events has remained unclear. We report here that a new fluorescent Ca2+ indicator developed by R. Tsien, Indo-1, has allowed us to resolve the temporal relationship between the rapid and transient cytoplasmic Ca2+ rise and the membrane potential change and to do so on very small samples by using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. We have adapted a FACS 440 for simultaneous single cell membrane depolarization and cytoplasmic [Ca2+] detection in human neutrophils upon stimulation with formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). A membrane potential probe, dipentyloxacarbocyanine, allows us to determine that the membrane potential change is fMLP dose-dependent and apparently biphasic. The depolarization is maximal 40 s after stimulation. In contrast, cytosolic [Ca2+], while fMLP-dose dependent, is maximal at 10 s and already decreasing rapidly when the cell has reached its lowest potential. It can be measured with Indo-1 which has a fluorescence emission (lambda ex = 357 nm) maximum at 485 nm when Ca2+-free and 405 nm when Ca2+-liganded. The ratio of these fluorescences may then be calibrated in terms of cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels. Thus, Ca2+ release into the cytoplasm becomes the earliest evidence of neutrophil stimulation by fMLP and occurs in close association with an apparent membrane hyperpolarization.

The role of monovalent cationic gradients in human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) stimulation was investigated by monitoring immune complex-stimulated transmembrane depolarization and superoxide production, events which accompany--and have been used as indicators of --PMNL activation. Abolishing only the Na+ gradient by substitution of choline for extracellular Na+ did not affect the resting membrane potential but reduced the rate of stimulus-induced transmembrane depolarization to 50% of control. In contrast, collapsing both Na+ and K+ gradients by suspension in K+ buffer (high K-PRK) depolarized the cells and reduced the stimulus-induced rate of depolarization to 11% of control. Pretreatment of cells suspended in Na+ buffers with 5-(N,N-dimethyl)amiloride hydrochloride (DMA) or with valinomycin reduced by one-half the rate of immune complex induced membrane depolarization. Conversely, in the absence of either or of both Na+ or K+ gradients, or in the presence of valinomycin, immune complex elicited an enhanced rate of superoxide production. However, PMNL prepared via NH4Cl (NH4Cl-PMNL) instead of H2O (H2O-PMNL) lysis of residual red blood cells exhibited an absolute requirement for an intact Na+ gradient in cell stimulation. The present results thus demonstrate that: 1) both Na+ and K+ gradients participate equally in the membrane depolarization elicited by immune complex; 2) neither a Na+ or a K+ gradient is required for immune complex activation, or for activity of the respiratory burst; and 3) an artifactual requirement for an intact Na+ gradient occurs in neutrophils prepared by the NH4Cl lysis technique.

We studied the ability of the recombinant human-active hemopoietic growth factors granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSFrh) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSFrh) to activate receptor-mediated transduction pathways which have been implicated in the stimulation of cytotoxic functions in granulocytes. With the use of a panel of fluorescent probes, we found that these two growth factors exerted no detectable immediate effect on the resting transmembrane electrical potential, the intracellular concentration of free calcium ions, or the cytosolic pH of isolated, mature granulocytes. However, when granulocytes were "primed" by preincubation for 90 min with GM-CSFrh or G-CSFrh, the rate of membrane depolarization induced by 10(-7) M N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, but not the rate of rise in free calcium ions, was greatly accelerated. In examining potential mechanisms to account for the priming effect of these growth factors, we found that although they did not induce translocation of protein kinase C or stimulate significant degranulation, they each directly caused prompt release of arachidonic acid from plasma membrane phospholipids. Our data indicate that although GM-CSFrh and G-CSFrh do not activate the transduction signals that have most clearly been implicated in receptor-mediated activation of cytotoxic functions in granulocytes--namely, those coupled to membrane depolarization or release of intracellular calcium ions--they appear directly to induce the release of arachidonic acid esterified to membrane phospholipids, an event which may represent the receptor-mediated activation of membrane phospholipases and which may contribute to the "priming" of the cells for enhancement of their functional responsiveness.

We isolated myeloid precursors from human marrow and studied the effects of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) upon transmembrane potentials and cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i) as the cells matured. Using a panel of fluorescent probes, we found that membrane depolarization induced by PMA and fMLP in granulocytes, and elevation in [Ca2+]i stimulated by fMLP, were absent in myeloblasts. When we induced differentiation with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors, we found that both ionic responses appeared at approximately the promyelocyte stage. By using di-O-C5(3), we detected an initial phase of fMLP-induced hyperpolarization which appeared ontogenetically earlier than depolarization and which could be evoked in mature granulocytes with lower concentrations of the ligand. Hyperpolarization was partially dependent on extracellular Na+, was abrogated by increasing the external K+ concentration, and was accompanied by mild acidification of the cytoplasm. Bordetella pertussis toxin abolished both hyperpolarization and depolarization. Our findings indicate that shifts in [Ca2+]i and membrane potential changes in response to PMA and fMLP evolve as granulocytes mature. In addition, transmembrane ionic fluxes induced by fMLP appear to be more complex than previously considered, involving at least two separable phases of membrane potential change.

We studied the phagocytes from three infants with malignant osteopetrosis and from their families in an attempt to define further the phagocyte abnormalities associated with this disorder. The rapid membrane potential depolarization in response to the soluble stimuli formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (FMLP) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) served as a measure of neutrophil activation, with 3,3-dipentyloxacarbocyanine (diOC5 [3]) used as the probe. A fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) allowed us to use small volumes of blood in a new quantitative evaluation of neutrophil response. The neutrophils from the infants with malignant osteopetrosis were very minimally activated with either stimulus, as demonstrated by incomplete membrane potential depolarization (10% to 15% of normal controls). This finding indicates that malignant osteopetrosis is accompanied by a significantly reduced neutrophil response to stimulation. The abnormal activation process was also reflected in the respiratory burst response of the patients' neutrophils and monocytes. Fifty percent to 60% of the infants' neutrophils totally failed to reduce nitro blue tetrazolium dye (NBT), 30% to 40% of the cells showed only slight reduction after PMA or FMLP stimulation, and only 5% to 10% demonstrated normal reduction. Peripheral blood monocytes failed to reduce NBT in 35% to 70% of the cells tested. Similar testing of granulocyte-macrophage colonies grown in vitro from circulating progenitor cells also showed an abnormal distribution of response to PMA, with a majority of colonies showing a decrease or absence of NBT reduction. Thus control of expression of the osteopetrotic defect occurs at or before the progenitor cell level.

Utilizing the induced differentiation of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells as a model of myeloid maturation, we examined the development of the superoxide-generating system, focusing on NADPH oxidase activity, membrane depolarization, and cytochrome b content. NADPH oxidase activity, measured as NADPH-dependent superoxide production, increased with both spontaneous and N,N-dimethylformamide-induced differentiation. Activity in particulate fractions from induced HL-60 cells and human peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes was proportional to their relative rates of superoxide production, but activity from uninduced cells was surprisingly high: one-third that from induced cells, despite only 7% their rate of superoxide generation. NADPH oxidase activities in phagocytic vesicles from induced HL-60 cells and polymorphonuclear leukocytes were equal, indicating the equivalence of the enzyme system in active portions of their cell membranes. Separation by centrifugal elutriation of the HL-60 cell population into fractions of varying maturity confirmed the relationship of NADPH oxidase activity to advancing differentiation in both dimethylformamide-induced and spontaneously maturing cells. Membrane potential change, an early event related to activation of the oxidase, was followed by 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine dye fluorescence. The depolarization response increased dramatically in both magnitude and initial rate of change during differentiation. The cells' cytochrome b content increased 3-fold with induction of differentiation, in proportion to the change in NADPH oxidase activity.

In order to gain insight into the physical interaction between bacterial endotoxins and the surface of human monocytes, we investigated the effects of Salmonella typhi endotoxin and lipid A on two functional properties of the plasma membrane of these cells: (1) the transmembrane electrical potential and (2) the fluidity of the lipid bilayer. Using the fluorescent lipophilic cationic probe 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine (di-S-C3(5] to monitor the transmembrane electrical potential, we found that neither endotoxin nor lipid A induced depolarization of the monocyte's plasma membrane or impeded its ability to undergo depolarization in response to phorbol myristate acetate. When the resting transmembrane potential of the monocyte was analyzed by exposing di-S-C3(5)-labeled cells suspended in media containing incremental concentrations of potassium ion (K+) to valinomycin, no difference between the response of control cells and cells pretreated with endotoxin was noted. We next examined the effect of endotoxin and lipid A on the fluidity of the monocyte's plasma membrane by monitoring the intensity of the fluorescence of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene. By quantifying the intensity of parallel and perpendicular polarized light emitted by this membrane-embedded probe between 8 and 56 degrees C, measurements of molecular anisotropy were used to identify temperature-dependent phase transitions within the hydrocarbon region of the plasma membrane and to estimate the relative microviscosity of the lipid bilayer before and after exposing the cells to endotoxin or lipid A. Although the temperature at which phase transitions occurred was the same in all experimental groups of cells, preincubation of monocytes with either endotoxin or lipid A appeared to increase both the apparent microviscosity of the cell membrane and the order of the lipid bilayer as reflected by a decrease in its flow-activation energy. Our data indicate that when endotoxin molecules contact the surface of the monocyte, the lipid A moiety appears to become incorporated into the plasma membrane, increasing the microviscosity of the lipid bilayer without significantly altering its ionic permeability. We therefore conclude that the metabolic activation of monocytes by endotoxin is not coupled to, or initiated by, membrane depolarization.

The rates of collagen fibril formation are, under otherwise identical conditions, a function of the age of the acid-soluble rat tail tendon collagen utilized. The rate is most rapid with young adult (165 day) collagen, which exhibits no induction period before collagen multimerization begins. In contrast, 21-day collagen exhibits both a 30% slower rate and an induction period. Collagens from older animals also have age-dependent fibril formation rates going from a maximum at 165 days to 80% of that for 1,100-day-old material. These age-related differences in collagen fibril formation kinetics appear to be related to the degree of cross-linking of the collagen involved.

Removal of calcium from thrombospondin with EDTA results in a decrease in the intensity of the negative CD peak between 200 and 250 nm. Quantitative analysis of the CD spectrum of thrombospondin indicates that thrombospondin contains approximately 11% alpha-helix, 43% beta-sheet, and 46% random coil in the presence of calcium and that a small change in secondary structure may occur upon removal of calcium with EDTA. When the change in the CD at 220 nm is measured as a function of calcium concentration, a sigmoidal curve with a transition midpoint of 120 microM is obtained, indicating that the binding is cooperative. Analysis of Hill plots of the data revealed a Hill coefficient of 12.3. Calcium was also found to affect the peptide pattern produced by limited tryptic digestion of thrombospondin, with some portions of the molecule being resistant to trypsin in the presence of calcium. When the change in quantity of a 65,000-dalton tryptic fragment was measured as a function of calcium concentration, a sigmoidal curve was again obtained. The midpoint of this transition is achieved at a free calcium concentration of 45 microM at 0 degrees C and 103 microM at 25 degrees C. These data indicate that thrombospondin contains at least 12 binding sites for calcium and that cooperative interactions between sites are associated with a conformational change in the thrombospondin molecule.

It would be advantageous to prepare models of the neutrophil plasma membrane in order to examine the role of the plasma membrane in transmembrane signal transduction in the human neutrophil and to dissect ligand-receptor interactions and structural changes in the cell surface upon stimulation. A number of investigators have prepared neutrophil membrane vesicles by homogenization, sonication, or centrifugation--techniques that can result in the loss of substantial amounts of surface membrane material, disruption of lysosomes causing proteolysis of membrane proteins, and contamination of the plasma membrane fraction by internal membranes. These limitations have been overcome in the present studies by employing a modification of the method previously developed in this laboratory. Human neutrophils were suspended in a buffer simulating cytoplasmic ionic and osmotic conditions and disrupted by nitrogen cavitation. The resultant cavitate was freed of undisrupted cells and nuclei and then centrifuged through discontinuous isotonic/isoosmotic Percoll gradients, which resolved four fractions: alpha (intact azurophilic granules), beta (intact specific granules), gamma (membrane vesicles), and delta (cytosol). The gamma fraction was highly enriched in alkaline phosphatase, a marker of the plasma membrane. In addition, this fraction contained less than 5% of the amounts of lysosomes (indicated by lysozyme activity) and nuclei (indicated by DNA content) found in intact cells or in unfractionated cavitate. Furthermore, the gamma fraction contained less than 10% of the levels of endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, mitochondrial, and lysosomal membranes in cells or cavitates, as determined by assays for glucose 6-phosphatase, galactosyl transferase, monoamine oxidase, and Mo1 (CD11b/CD18; Mac-1), respectively. Finally, 75% of the membrane vesicles were sealed, as indicated by assay of ouabain-sensitive (Na+,K+) ATPase activity, and 55% were oriented right-side-out, as determined by exposure of concanavalin A (ConA) receptors and sialic acid residues on the surfaces of the vesicles. These heterogeneous preparations could be enriched for right-side-out vesicles by their selective adherence to ConA-coated plates and subsequent detachment by rinsing the surfaces of the plates with alpha-methylmannoside. This enrichment protocol did not affect the integrity of the vesicles and resulted in populations in which greater than 85% of the vesicles were oriented right-side-out. This procedure thus permits the preparation of sealed, right-side-out membrane vesicles that may be used as valid experimental models of the neutrophil plasma membrane in a variety of functional studies.

Soybean polypeptides and diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) have been reported to inhibit neutrophil functions such as the oxidative burst, chemotaxis, and/or phagocytosis in response to soluble stimuli; these observations would be compatible with the involvement of an active serine protease in neutrophil stimulation. We have investigated the possibility of such involvement when particulate stimuli such as immune complexes are utilized. The depolarization of the neutrophils' membrane potential, one of the earliest indicators of stimulation, and superoxide production, which is detectable 30-45 sec later, were our indicators of neutrophil response to immune complexes. The neutrophils were equilibrated with, and after 5 min washed free of, up to 60 mM DFP, a potent covalent serine protease inhibitor. At DFP concentrations below 24 mM, such treatment did not perturb neutrophil activation as measured by either of the above parameters, nor did F- alone under comparable conditions. Additionally, the immune complex induced responses of neutrophils preincubated for 3 min with N-alpha-p-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethylketone (TLCK), L-1-tosylamido-2-phenyl-ethyl-chloromethylketone (TPCK), or phenyl-methyl-sulfonyl-fluoride (PMSF), covalent serine protease inhibitors which have, however, been shown to function in other capacities, e.g., as superoxide dismutases; 1 mM PMSF or 0.5 mM TLCK consistently reduced the observed membrane depolarization, one of the earliest consequences of neutrophil activation, by 20-30%, while 0.1 mM TLCK and 0.01 mM TPCK had little or no effect. The inhibition of superoxide production, a slightly later stimulus response, by PMSF, TLCK, and TPCK was more profound (50-75%); these compounds have, however, been shown to have activities other than serine protease inhibitors--for example, as superoxide dismutases. Since DFP is purely a serine protease inhibitor, and since the three other compounds do not affect depolarization (the earlier and superoxide independent event), our results indicate that active serine proteases do not appear to be necessary for immune-complex-initiated neutrophil stimulation. Other stimuli, which are known to activate neutrophils by different pathways, were not investigated.

The grey platelet syndrome is a rare inherited disorder characterized by a marked decrease or absence of alpha-granules and of platelet-specific alpha-granule proteins. By utilizing platelets from two patients with this syndrome, we here demonstrate that the initial response of human platelets to alpha-thrombin does not require the presence of alpha-granules nor the effective release of their constituents. Furthermore, these platelets respond to thrombin with a normal, dose-dependent membrane potential change, and a normal secondary release of diS-C3-(5) thought to be released in parallel with beta-glucuronidase from the lysosomal granules. These results give new insight into the initial steps in the thrombin response of normal platelets.

The inhibitory effect of phorbol dibutyrate (PDB) on B-cell stimulation was evaluated using a model in which activation is induced by modest doses of antiimmunoglobulin antibody (anti-Ig) and progression to DNA synthesis is induced by cytochalasin. PDB preferentially inhibited anti-Ig-induced activation and did so during brief (2 hr) preincubation with anti-Ig. Activation was inhibited whether PDB was added before or shortly after anti-Ig. Since activation for cytochalasin responsiveness appears to be mediated by Ca2+, the effect of PDB on the anti-Ig-induced rise in intracellular Ca2+ was evaluated. PDB (and other phorbol esters that activate protein kinase C) inhibited the rise in Ca2+ normally associated with anti-Ig treatment; moreover, PDB reversed an established anti-Ig-induced Ca2+ response. These data suggest that phorbol esters inhibit B-cell activation by interfering with the elevated levels of intracellular Ca2+ produced by cross-linking of surface immunoglobulin by anti-Ig. This could represent a "feedback inhibition" type of response, but it remains to be seen if this occurs under physiological conditions of protein kinase C activation.

Thrombin causes a dose-dependent cytoplasmic alkalinization of normal human platelets. The pH probe 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) permits an easier and more accurate quantitation of the kinetics of this change previously measured with 9-aminoacridine and 6-carboxyfluorescein (6-CF). We report here a modification of the previously published 6-CF technique and confirm the thrombin-induced cytoplasmic pH change in the human platelet using a second fluorescein derivative, BCECF. Maximal thrombin stimulation raises the resting cytoplasmic pH of the human platelet from 7.0 to 7.25.