Search

Activation of 32P-loaded neutrophils with phorbol myristate acetate causes the labeling of a family of three 48K proteins that focus near neutral pH. The relationship between these phosphoproteins and the activation of the respiratory burst has been supported by the previous finding that phosphorylation was defective in the two most common types of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD): X-linked cytochrome-negative (X/-) and autosomal cytochrome-positive (A/+). In this report, these studies have now been extended to the rare A/- and X/+ forms of the disease. In all three patients with A/- CGD examined, the two most acidic 48K proteins failed to undergo enhanced phosphorylation in response to phorbol stimulation, a finding similar to that seen in X/- patients. In contrast, neutrophils from two patients with X/+ CGD appeared to phosphorylate the neutral 48K proteins in a normal fashion. It thus appears that the different phosphorylation patterns seen in chronic granulomatous disease are a reflection of the genetic heterogeneity of this disorder. These findings lend further support to the conclusion that the 48K phosphoprotein family is related to the respiratory burst, although not necessarily in a straightforward manner.

We examined the aggregation responses of normal neutrophils treated with the murine monoclonal antibody (MoAb) 60.3. Addition of MoAb 60.3 to normal neutrophils produced dose-dependent inhibition of neutrophil aggregation in response to phorbol myristate acetate, zymosan-activated plasma, and N-formyl-methionylleucylphenylalanine. We conclude that the membrane glycoprotein complex recognized by MoAb 60.3--designated CDw18- -is required for neutrophil-neutrophil aggregation in vitro.

We have previously described two patients with a congenital defect in neutrophil function characterized by an inability to form pus. The patients' neutrophils lack a membrane glycoprotein of mol wt 150,000 daltons (GP-150) on analysis by SDS-PAGE. This glycoprotein is part of a membrane antigen complex recognized by the murine monoclonal antibody (MoAb) 60.3. Addition of MoAb 60.3 to normal neutrophils produces defects in chemotaxis and phagocytosis in vitro similar to those observed in the patients. Since neutrophil adherence to vascular endothelium is prerequisite to neutrophil emigration in vivo, we examined the interaction of the patients' neutrophils and normal neutrophils treated with MoAb 60.3 with cultured endothelium. Adherence was determined as the percentage of 51Cr-labeled purified peripheral blood neutrophils which remained adherent to plastic wells or endothelial monolayers after a 45-minute incubation at 37 degrees C. The percentage of neutrophils from patient 1 remaining adherent to uncoated, fibronectin-coated, or laminin-coated plastic was similar to that observed in normal neutrophils (55% to 84% adherence with normal neutrophils v 73% to 78% adherence with the patient's neutrophils and 63% to 82% adherence with MoAb 60.3-treated normal neutrophils). The adherence of the neutrophils from patient 1 and MoAb 60.3-treated normal neutrophils to human or bovine endothelium in serum-free medium was also not significantly different from that observed in normal neutrophils (less than 10% adherence with normal, MoAb 60.3-treated, and patient neutrophils). In medium containing 10% autologous or heterologous human plasma, however, the adherence of neutrophils from patient 1 or MoAb 60.3-treated normal neutrophils to endothelial monolayers was significantly reduced (35% +/- 7% of normal neutrophils in seven experiments). Although phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) (10 ng/mL) and calcium ionophore A23187 (10(-5) mol/L) markedly increased the adherence of normal neutrophils to endothelial monolayers in serum- free medium (40% to 85% adherence), neither agent increased the adherence of the neutrophils from patient 1 or normal neutrophils treated with MoAb 60.3 (less than 5% adherence). The adherence of PMA- activated neutrophils from patient 2 to endothelial monolayers was also markedly decreased when compared with that of normal neutrophils. Postsecretory cell-free supernatants from PMA-activated normal neutrophils failed to augment adherence of neutrophils from patient 1 (less than 5% adherence).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

We have evaluated the functional and immunochemical activities of three monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) minimally reactive with adherence- defective neutrophils (PMN) from a patient with recurrent bacterial infections. In studies with normal PMN, MoAbs OKM1 and 60.1 both precipitate the same 165kd alpha-subunit (alpha M) within an alpha-beta heterodimer complex (CD11). The CD11 complex is part of a larger complex composed of four glycoproteins (CDw18) precipitated by MoAb 60.3, with properties suggesting that the CDw18 complex is equivalent to the Mac-1, LFA-1, p150, 95 glycoprotein family implicated in adherence-dependent leukocyte functions. PMN adherence to endothelium, spreading on surfaces, aggregation, and phagocytosis of zymosan particles were all inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by MoAb 60.1 (analogous to previous studies with MoAb 60.3) while MoAb OKM1 had no effect. These findings unify previously disparate observations and suggest that a functionally active site on the adherence promoting glycoprotein complexes CD11 and CDw18 is distant from the alpha M epitope recognized by MoAb OKM1 but closely associated with the alpha M epitope recognized by MoAb 60.1 and the beta-epitope (or epitope created by alpha-beta quaternary structure) recognized by MoAb 60.3.

One-hundred fifty-three recipients of HLA-identical sibling marrow transplants for aplastic anemia or hematologic malignancy were injected with bacteriophage phi X174 (phage), pneumococcal polysaccharide antigen (PPA), or keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Antibody levels were determined several times in the 6 wk after injection. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine what factors played significant roles in the antibody response. The most significant factors were the time elapsed from transplantation, chronic graft- versus-host disease (GVHD), and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) treatment. All patients had low antibody responses to all antigens in the first 180 days from transplant. Beyond 180 days patients without chronic GVHD showed antibody responses indistinguishable from those of normal donors. However, patients with chronic GVHD had the following impairments: (1) primary response to phage, (2) conversion from IgM to IgG in secondary response to phage, (3) secondary response to KLH, and (4) response to PPA. ATG treatment given to patients either prophylactically or therapeutically for acute GVHD was followed by lower primary responses to phage in the first 180 days and poor ability to switch from IgM to IgG antibody in the secondary response beyond 180 days postgrafting. Other factors did not yield additional significant information about ability to predict antibody responses including diagnosis, conditioning regimen, treatment in or out of laminar air flow rooms, transplantation, pretransplant refractoriness of the recipient to platelet transfusions from random donors, donor age or donor sex, and steroid administration for treatment for prevention of GVHD. The data indicate that, given enough time after transplantation, the ability to produce normal antibody function recovers except in those patients experiencing chronic GVHD.

We tested the hypothesis that chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is due to inadequate thymic function by examining pretransplant serum levels of facteur thymique serique (FTS). Four of five patients with no detectable FTS activity developed chronic GVHD, while one of four with some FTS activity did. Further patient numbers are needed to confirm or reject this hypothesis. We further postulated that chronic GVHD, whatever its cause, involves thymic epithelium as a target organ. When tested 11 mo or more posttransplant, patients with chronic GVHD had lower absolute FTS levels (p less than 0.02) and lower age-corrected levels (p = 0.05) than patients without chronic GHVD. Low values in chronic GVHD were associated with the disease itself and not its therapy. These findings show that thymic epithelial secretory function is impaired in chronic GVHD, and this may in part be responsible for the immunodeficiency characteristic of these patients.