Sulfhydryl Modification Induces Calcium Entry through IP3-Sensitive Store-Operated Pathway in Activation-Dependent Human Neutrophils

As the first line of host defense, neutrophils are stimulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines from resting state, facilitating the execution of immunomodulatory functions in activation state. Sulfhydryl modification has a regulatory role in a wide variety of physiological functions through mediation of signaling transductions in various cell types. Recent research suggested that two kinds of sulfhydryl modification, S-nitrosylation by exogenous nitric oxide (NO) and alkylation by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), could induce calcium entry through a non-store-operated pathway in resting rat neutrophils and DDT1MF-2 cells, while in active human neutrophils a different process has been observed by us. In the present work, data showed that NEM induced a sharp rising of cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]c) without external calcium, followed by a second [Ca2+]c increase with readdition of external calcium in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-activated human neutrophils. Meanwhile, addition of external calcium did not cause [Ca2+]c change of Ca2+-free PMA-activated neutrophils before application of NEM. These data indicated that NEM could induce believable store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) in PMA-activated neutrophils. Besides, we found that sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a donor of exogenous NO, resulted in believable SOCE in PMA-activated human neutrophils via S-nitrosylation modification. In contrast, NEM and SNP have no effect on [Ca2+]c of resting neutrophils which were performed in suspension. Furthermore, 2-Aminoethoxydiphenyl borate, a reliable blocker of SOCE and an inhibitor of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor, evidently abolished SNP and NEM-induced calcium entry at 75 µM, while preventing calcium release in a concentration-dependent manner. Considered together, these results demonstrated that NEM and SNP induced calcium entry through an IP3-sensitive store-operated pathway of human neutrophils via sulfhydryl modification in a PMA-induced activation-dependent manner

Measurements of Phospholipases A2, C and D (PLA2, PLC and PLD) : In Vitro Microassays, Analysis of Enzyme Isoforms, and Intact-Cell Assays

Phospholipases have been studied in great detail and their role in cell signaling has been established in the last 20 years. A role for phospholipases in mitogenesis has been described in terms of the products of their enzymatic reactions. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is produced by the action of a phosphatidic acid (PA)-specific phospholipase A2 (PLA2). LPA is a potent mitogen for quiescent fibroblasts and triggers GTP-dependent phosphoinositide breakdown (1) through a membrane receptor (2). A phosphatidylcholine-specific PLA2 is responsible for the release of arachidonic acid in response to cell stimulation. Arachidonic acid is the precursor of biologically-active eicosanoids such as prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes of key importance in the body’s inflammatory response (3)

Activation of the Small GTPase Rap1 in Human Neutrophils

The small GTPase Rap1 is highly expressed in human neutrophils, but its function is largely unknown. Using the Rap1- binding domain of RalGDS (RalGDS-RBD) as an activationspecific probe for Rap1, we have investigated the regulation of Rap1 activity in primary human neutrophils. We found that a variety of stimuli involved in neutrophil activation, including fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP), platelet-activating factor (PAF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and IgG-coated particles, induce a rapid and transient Rap1 activation. In addition, we found that Rap1 is normally activated in neutrophils from chronic granulomatous disease patients that lack cytochrome b558 or p47phox and have a defective NADPH oxidase system. From these results we conclude that in neutrophils Rap1 is activated independently of respiratory burst induction. Finally, we found that Rap1 is activated by both the Ca21 ionophore ionomycin and the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), indicating that phospholipase C (PLC) activation leading to elevated levels of intracellular free Ca21 and diacylglycerol (DAG) can mediate Rap1 activation. However, inhibition of PLC and Ca21 depletion only marginally affected fMLP-induced Rap1 activation, suggesting that additional pathways may control Rap1 activation