Inert particles inhibit natural killer cell function in vitro

Aqueous suspensions of inert particles were found to inhibit the baseline and interferon-enhanced natural killer (NK) cell activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and large granular lymphocytes (LGLs). This inhibition was induced with latex, silica, and Sephadex particles. The suppression of NK activity was not related to effector cell death as determined by trypan blue exclusion. The inhibition of NK cell function was more pronounced with prolonged incubation and could be partially reversed with monocyte depletion or the addition of indomethacin, a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, but not with the addition of the lipoxygenase inhibitors nordihydroguaiaretic acid and BW755C. Similarly, particle exposure inhibited the NK cell function of monocyte-depleted large granular lymphocytes with and without the add-back of glass adherent cells, implying that monocyte-independent NK suppressive mechanisms were also present. These data demonstrate that inert particles are immunosuppressive in vitro and can inhibit baseline and interferon-stimulated NK cell function of LGLs and PBMC through monocyte-dependent and independent pathways.     

Regulation of rat natural killing. II. Inhibition of cytolysis and activation by inhibitors of lipoxygenase: possible role of leukotrienes

Rat splenic natural killer (NK) cell activity against 51Cr-labeled YAC-1 or TMT-081 tumor cells can be augmented by culturing at 37 degrees C for 18 hr. Inhibitors of the lipoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism, NDGA, alpha-phenanthroline, quercetin, ETYA, BW755C, esculetin, and timegadine, inhibited this NK activation and also inhibited NK cytotoxicity when added directly to the NK assay. However, there was a partial loss of sensitivity of activated NK cells to suppression by NDGA, BW755C, and esculetin. Indomethacin failed to reverse the inhibition of NK activation caused by NDGA. However, LTB4 and LTC4 (0.01 microgram/ml) were able to reverse the inhibitory effect of NDGA on NK activation. Furthermore, spleen cells cultured for 18 hr synthesized detectable amount of LTC4 in their supernatants. NDGA inhibited the LTC4 synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. These data therefore suggest that leukotrienes are responsible for NK activation, and lipoxygenase activity is essential for NK cytolytic activity.     

Glucose-stimulated protein phosphorylation in the pancreatic islet

The effect of inhibitors of the cyclo-oxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism on steroidogenesis in rat testis Leydig cells and rat tumour Leydig cells has been investigated. In the presence of nordihydroguaiaretic acid [NDGA; 4,4'-(2,3- dimethylbutan -1,4- diyl )bis[1,2- benzendiol ]], 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), BW 755C [3-amino-1-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-2-pyrazoline hydrochloride] and benoxaprofen [ Opren ; 2-(2-p-chlorophenyl- benzoxazol -5-yl)propionic acid)] (which inhibit lipoxygenase activity), but not indomethacin and aspirin (which inhibit cyclo-oxygenase activity), a dose-related inhibition of lutropin (LH)-stimulated testosterone and pregnenolone production was obtained (ID50 values of 2.5, 30, 25 and 30 microM for NDGA, ETYA, BW 755C and benoxaprofen were obtained, respectively). BW 755C and benoxaprofen had no significant effect on LH-stimulated cyclic AMP production except at the highest concentrations examined (330 and 380 microM, respectively), whereas NDGA and ETYA inhibited LH-stimulated cyclic AMP production in a dose-dependent manner (ID50 7.0 and 22 microM respectively). However, NDGA and ETYA also caused a dose-dependent inhibition of dibutyryl cyclic AMP-stimulated testosterone and pregnenolone production. The metabolism of exogenous ( 22R )-hydroxycholesterol or pregnenolone to testosterone by Leydig cells was not inhibited by either NDGA, ETYA or indomethacin. At low concentrations of NDGA and ETYA a significant increase in the conversion of both pregnenolone and ( 22R )-hydroxycholesterol to testosterone was obtained. Studies in which the metabolism of [14C]arachidonic acid by purified rat tumour Leydig cells was investigated indicate that products are formed by tumour Leydig cells that have similar mobilities in a thin layer chromatography system to 5-L-hydroxy-6,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid, 12-L-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid and leukotriene B4. The formation of these products was inhibited to varying degrees by NDGA, BW 755C and benoxaprofen but not by aspirin and indomethacin. These studies demonstrate for the first time that inhibition of lipoxygenase activity but not cyclo-oxygenase activity causes an inhibition of LH- and dibutyryl cyclic AMP-stimulated steroid production and suggest a stimulatory role for products of the lipoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism in steroidogenesis. The site of this stimulation is apparently distal to the production of cyclic AMP and before the side chain cleavage of cholesterol.     

Effects of antioxidants on cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase activities in intact human platelets: Comparison with indomethacin and etya

Five antioxidative agents (BW755C, 1-naphtol, NDGA, propylgallate and quercetin) were compared with indomethacin and ETYA for their effects on (¹⁴C) arachidonic acid metabolism by cyclooxygenase (CO) and lipoxygenase (LPO) enzymes in intact human platelets. All tested compounds inhibited CO activity in a concentration-dependent manner. LPO activity was suppressed by NDGA, propylgallate, quercetin and ETYA but strongly enhanced by BW755C, 1-napthol and indomethacin. Whereas NDGA and ETYA showed almost equipotent inhibitory effects towards both fatty acid oxygenases, propylgallate and quercetin were found to be respectively 6.5 and 4 times better inhibitors of LPO than of CO activities.These data indicate that antioxidants affect arachidonic acid metabolism in intact human platelets in different ways: BW755C and 1-naphtol exerted the same activity as indomethacin, a selective CO blocker, whereas NDGA, propylgallate and quercetin behaved as ETYA, a dual CO-LPO inhibitor. Considering their inhibition selectivity, propylgallate and quercetin may serve as prototypes for more specific blockers of LPO activity.     

Effects of cyclo- and lipoxygenase inhibitors on hypoxic vasoconstriction in isolated ferret lungs

To evaluate the role of leukotrienes in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, we measured steady-state pressor responses to graded hypoxia in isolated ferret lungs perfused with autologous blood containing 0.001, 0.03, 1, or 3 mM nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), 1 mM BW 755C, or 0.02-0.05 mM indomethacin. Untreated lungs served as controls. Perfusate concentrations of thromboxane B2 and 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha, measured by radioimmunoassay, were markedly reduced in all treated lungs, indicating inhibition of cyclooxygenase. The maximum pressor response to hypoxia measured at a blood flow of 50 ml.min-1. kg-1 averaged 26.6 +/- 2.4 Torr in untreated lungs and was not affected by BW 755C or 0.001-0.03 mM NDGA. Because BW 755C and NDGA inhibited cyclooxygenase at concentrations that did not affect hypoxic vasoconstriction and because both agents are thought to inhibit lipoxygenase with a potency greater than or equal to that with which they inhibit cyclooxygenase, these results do not support the possibility that hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction was mediated by leukotrienes. At concentrations of 1 and 3 mM, NDGA inhibited the maximum hypoxic pressor response by 57 and 95%, respectively. The mechanism of this attenuation is unknown; however, it was apparently not due to cyclooxygenase inhibition, since indomethacin enhanced the maximum hypoxic pressor response by 45%. Nor was it due to blockade of calcium entry or interference with the contractile process in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle, since 1 mM NDGA did not inhibit vasoconstrictor responses to KCl or prostaglandin F2 alpha.     

Role of lipoxygenation in human natural killer cell activation

Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), quercetin, eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), phenidone, and esculetin, agents known to inhibit cellular lipoxygenase (LO) activity, also inhibit human natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity (NK-CMC) of K562 tumor target cells (TC) in a dose-dependent fashion. Kinetic analysis demonstrated that LO inhibitors blocked an early event in the activation of the lytic mechanism but did not impair conjugate formation. LO inhibitors also did not affect subsequent chromium release, indicating that their site of inhibition was the NK cell and not the TC. The lipoxygenase products 5-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HPETE) and leukotriene-B4 significantly enhanced NK activity, with 5-HPETE being the more effective. Other LO products tested included 15-HPETE and the hydroxy derivatives 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) and 5-HETE. These LO metabolites were either without effect on NK-CMC or inhibitory, depending upon the concentration. Additionally, we examined the ability of 5-HPETE to circumvent the effects of LO inhibitors and found that, in the presence of NDGA, ETYA or quercetin, 5-HPETE significantly (p less than 0.001) restored lytic activity. Inhibitors of LTB4 and LTC4 synthesis, diethylcarbamazine and U-60,257 respectively, produced no inhibition of NK activity. In fact, U-60,257 significantly (p less than 0.05) enhanced NK-CMC. Previous studies in our laboratory, with a new technique which allows for the separation of NK cells from K562 cells, have shown that K562-treated effector cells are greater than 90% inactivated when retested against fresh K562 in the standard chromium release assay. Lipids were extracted from K562-treated, Percoll-purified LGL and evaluated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No significant increases were seen in the arachidonic acid-derived LO products evaluated. Thus, our studies indicate that lipoxygenation may be required in the activation of NK-CMC, possibly as a means to generate oxygen radicals which have been previously implicated in NK-CMC.     

Arachidonic acid metabolism in isolated pancreatic islets. III. Effects of exogenous lipoxygenase products and inhibitors on insulin secretion

Isolated pancreatic islets from the rat have been demonstrated by stable isotope dilution-mass spectrometric methods to synthesize the 12-lipoxygenase product 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) in amounts of 1.7 to 2.8 ng per 10(3) islets. No detectable amounts of 5-HETE and only trace amounts of 15-HETE could be demonstrated by these methods. Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) and BW755C have been demonstrated to inhibit islet 12-HETE synthesis and also to inhibit glucose-induced insulin secretion. Inhibition of insulin secretion and of 12-HETE synthesis exhibited similar dependence on the concentration of these compounds. Eicosa-5,8,11,14-tetrynoic acid (ETYA) also inhibited glucose-induced insulin secretion, as previously reported, at concentrations which inhibit islet 12-HETE synthesis. Exogenous 12-HETE partially reversed the suppression of glucose-induced insulin secretion by lipoxygenase inhibitors, but exogenous 12-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HPETE), 15-HPETE, 5-HPETE, 15-HETE, or 5-HETE did not reverse this suppression. These observations argue against the recently suggested hypothesis that islet synthesis of 5-HETE modulates insulin secretion. Suppression of glucose-induced insulin secretion by ETYA, BW755C and NDGA may be due to inhibition of the islet 12-lipoxygenase by these compounds. The possibility that other processes involved in glucose-induced insulin secretion are inhibited by ETYA, BW755C and NDGA cannot yet be excluded.     

Interleukin-1 inhibits the synthesis of collagen by fibroblasts

Human dermal fibroblasts, exposed to human or porcine Interleukin-1, responded by an inhibition of collagen synthesis in a dose dependent manner. Incubation with Il-1 for more than 8 h was required to see an appreciable effect. The phenomenon was not dependent on the presence of serum in the culture medium. Since a stimulation of prostaglandin E2 secretion was also observed in presence of Il-1, we investigated the eventual role of arachidonic acid metabolites in the phenomenon. Inhibitors interfering with arachidonate metabolism, namely indomethacin, acetyl salicylic acid, BW 755 C and NDGA had no influence on the inhibition of collagen synthesis caused by Il-1. These data suggest that both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase derived metabolites of arachidonic acid are unlikely to play a role in the mechanism.     

Activation of the lipoxygenase pathway in the methionine enkephalin induced respiratory burst in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes

In comparative studies of f-met-Leu-Phe (FMLP) and methionine enkephalin (ME) induced polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) stimulation the following results were obtained: (i) both FMLP and ME increased the intracellular killing (IK) capability of human PMNLs probably through NADPH oxidase activation, (ii) the ME-induced respiratory burst (RB) differed from the chemotactic peptide FMLP-triggered superoxide generation because the former was not accompanied by the activation of the glutathione system and the duration of the superoxide production was prolonged. The reaction was dependent on lipoxygenation, was potentiated by indomethacin (IM) and was inhibited by nordihidro-guairetic acid (NDGA), (iii) both 14C-arachidonic acid (14C-AA) release and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) synthesis of ME-treated PMNLs were elevated as compared to those of FMLP triggered cells. Our results suggest that lipoxygenation and even an increased LTB4 synthesis are involved in the ME-induced RB of leukocytes.     

Inhibitors of arachidonic acid lipoxygenase impair the stimulation of inositol phospholipid hydrolysis by the T lymphocyte mitogen phytohaemagglutinin

Piriprost and nordihydroguiaretic acid (NDGA), specific inhibitors of arachidonate lipoxygenase, inhibited phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated breakdown of inositol lipids in human T lymphocytes. The dual inhibitors eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA) and BW 755C, which inhibit both lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase, also had similar actions, whereas indomethacin and acetylsalicyclic acid, which inhibit cyclooxygenase alone, did not. The effects of lipoxygenase inhibitors and dual inhibitors were reversible. These agents did not inhibit phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate-specific phospholipase C (PIP2-PLC) in vitro. Bromophenacyl bromide, and irreversible inhibitor of phospholipase A2, also abolished PHA-stimulated inositol lipid breakdown without affecting PIP2-PLC in vitro. The results are consistent with a role for the PHA-stimulated generation of arachidonic acid and its conversion to lipoxygenase metabolites (e.g. leukotrienes and/or hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids) as intermediate steps in the signal transduction pathway between cell-surface mitogen receptors and the stimulation of PIP2-PLC in lymphocytes.     

Products of the lipoxygenase pathway in human natural killer cell cytotoxicity

As earlier data suggested the importance of lipoxygenase activation for expression of human NK cell cytotoxicity, four different lipoxygenase inhibitors were tested for suppression of natural killer (NK) cell lysis. All inhibitors were found active at nontoxic concentrations with 50% inhibition at approximately 15 microM for nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA). NK cell lysis could be reconstituted to NDGA-suppressed cells with leukotriene B4 (LTB4), the all-trans isomers 6-trans-LTB4 and 12-epi-6-trans-LTB4, and 20-COOH-LTB4. LTB4 reconstitution was best in the concentration range 1-100 pM and near control levels at both higher and lower concentrations. Herpesvirus Ateles-transformed killer T cells could also be inhibited by NDGA. These data indicate that lipoxygenase activity is required for human NK cell lysis and that several different LTB4-related products can restore NK activity in inhibited cells; they also suggest that the lipoxygenase pathway is present in the killer cell population.     

Arachidonic acid metabolism of the murine eosinophil. II. Involvement of the lipoxygenase pathway in the response to the lymphokine eosinophil stimulation promoter

Eosinophil stimulation promoter (ESP) is a murine lymphokine that enhances the migration of eosinophils. Exogenous arachidonic acid between 0.5 and 2 micrograms/ml potentiated the activity of ESP on murine eosinophil migration, whereas such concentrations did not affect migration in the absence of ESP. Among the lipoxygenase products identified from an enriched population of murine eosinophils, leukotriene B4 (optimal activity at 100 ng/ml) and 12-HETE (optimal activity at 2 micrograms/ml) stimulated migration of these cells. Another lipoxygenase product from these cells 15-HETE inhibited ESP-induced migration; between 5 and 10 micrograms/ml 15-HETE decreased by one-half both stimulated migration and 12-HETE biosynthesis. Structurally diverse drugs at concentrations that inhibited HETE biosynthesis inhibited ESP-induced migration. The concentrations that decreased migration activity by one-half were 5 microM NDGA, 10 microM ETYA, and 150 microM BW755C. Aspirin and indomethacin at concentrations reported to inhibit prostaglandin biosynthesis did not substantially inhibit ESP activity, but concentrations of indomethacin above 20 microM caused concentration-dependent inhibition of migration. The selective lipoxygenases inhibitor 134,7,10,13-eicosatetraynoic acid was more potent than ETYA in inhibition of ESP-induced migration, and the selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor 6,9,12-octadecatriynoic acid did not effect inhibition. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that stimulation of eosinophils by the lymphokine ESP involves the generation of lipoxygenase products from arachidonic acid, which positively and negatively regulate the migratory activities of these cells.     

Mobilization of arachidonic acid in collagen-stimulated human platelets.

Stimulation of platelets with collagen results in the mobilization of arachidonic acid (AA) from phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). In this study the effect of aspirin, indomethacin, BW755C and prostaglandin H2 (PGH2) on labelled AA release in response to varied concentrations of collagen was investigated. Our results indicate that aspirin (0.56 mM) and indomethacin (5.6 microM) not only inhibited the collagen-mediated formation of cyclo-oxygenase metabolites, but also caused a significant reduction in the accumulation of free labelled AA and 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) (21-64%). Aspirin and indomethacin also inhibited the release of [3H]AA from PC (37-75%) and PI (33-63%). The inhibition of AA release caused by aspirin was reversed partially by PGH2 (1 microM). In contrast, a smaller/no inhibition of collagen-stimulated labelled AA and 12-HETE accumulation (0-11%) and of collagen-stimulated AA loss from PC and PI was observed in the presence of BW755C. The results obtained in the presence of aspirin, indomethacin and BW755C at lower concentrations of collagen further demonstrate that AA release from PI (45-61% inhibition at 10 micrograms of collagen), but not from PC, was affected by the inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase. The results obtained on the effect of PGH2 further support that deacylation of phospholipids occurs independently of cyclo-oxygenase metabolites, particularly at higher concentrations of collagen. These results also demonstrate that aspirin and indomethacin, but not BW755C, cause a direct inhibition of collagen-induced [3H]AA liberation from PC as well as from PI. We also conclude that the diacylglycerol lipase pathway is a minor, but important, route for AA release from PI in collagen-stimulated human platelets. The mechanisms underlying the regulation of AA release by collagen in the absence of cyclo-oxygenase metabolites are not clear.     

Potassium channels in human NK cells are involved in discrete stages of the killing process

Using the whole-cell variation of the patch-clamp technique, we have found a voltage-dependent K+ current in human natural killer (NK) cells. This K+ current is reduced in a dose-dependent manner by a variety of ion-channel blockers (verapamil, quinidine, 4-aminopyridine, Cd2+) at concentrations comparable to those that inhibit natural killing. Pretreatment of target cells with quinidine or verapamil did not significantly reduce their sensitivity to killing, whereas substantial inhibition of killing was observed after pretreatment of effector cells. Both verapamil and quinidine reduced the proportion of effector-target cell conjugates, suggesting that K channels play a role in the "binding" phase of the killing process. By adding EDTA or channel blockers as various times in a Ca-pulse assay system, we have also delineated a blocker-sensitive phase of bound conjugates that strictly corresponds with the Ca-dependent "programming" stage of killing. In contrast, the killer cell-independent stage, which is Ca2+ independent, apparently does not require functioning K channels. Verapamil and quinidine do not affect target cell sensitivity to the putative soluble mediator of natural killing, natural killer cytotoxic factor (NKCF), but inhibit release of NKCF from NK cells. Thus, the data suggest that K channels in NK cells play essential roles in the natural killing process that include events in the "programming-for-lysis" phase leading to release of NKCF.     

Human NK cells differ more in their KIR2DL1-dependent thresholds for HLA-Cw6-mediated inhibition than in their maximal killing capacity

In this study we have addressed the question of how activation and inhibition of human NK cells is regulated by the expression level of MHC class I protein on target cells. Using target cell transfectants sorted to stably express different levels of the MHC class I protein HLA-Cw6, we show that induction of degranulation and that of IFN-γ secretion are not correlated. In contrast, the inhibition of these two processes by MHC class-I occurs at the same level of class I MHC protein. Primary human NK cell clones were found to differ in the amount of target MHC class I protein required for their inhibition, rather than in their maximum killing capacity. Importantly, we show that KIR2DL1 expression determines the thresholds (in terms of MHC I protein levels) required for NK cell inhibition, while the expression of other receptors such as LIR1 is less important. Furthermore, using mathematical models to explore the dynamics of target cell killing, we found that the observed delay in target cell killing is exhibited by a model in which NK cells require some activation or priming, such that each cell can lyse a target cell only after being activated by a first encounter with the same or a different target cell, but not by models which lack this feature.     

Inhibition of human antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and natural killing by a xenogeneic antiserum prepared against "activated" alloimmune human lymphocytes

Xenogeneic antiserum (RH1) was prepared in Lewis rats by hyperimmunization with concanavalin A- (Con A) activated alloimmune human lymphocytes. The antiserum RH1 effectively inhibited human antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC), and natural killing (NK) in the absence of complement (C). Inhibition by RH1 was dependent on the dilution of antiserum employed and the number of cytotoxic lymphocytes present during cytolysis. Pretreatment of lymphocytes with RH1 or the presence of RH1 in culture did not inhibit lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by Con A, phytohemagglutinin, or allogeneic cells; lymphokine production as measured by leukocyte-inhibiting factor production; antibody-dependent C lysis; or CMC mediated by murine cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Analysis of the mechanism of inhibition of cytotoxicity by RH1 revealed that 1) RH1 was not cytotoxic for human lymphocytes at 37 degrees C in the absence of C; 2) purified F(ab')2 fragments were equally inhibitory as whole serum; 3) pretreatment of lymphocytes with RH1 effectively inhibited their capacity to mediate ADCC, CMC, or NK, and this effect was reversible by culturing the cells overnight at 37 degrees C; 4) RH1 did not inhibit target cell binding by K cells, effector cells of ADCC, or alloimmune T cells, but did inhibit binding by NK cells; and finally, 5) the addition of RH1 to preformed lymphocyte-target conjugates in a single cell cytotoxicity assay inhibited killing of the bound target cells in all three systems without disrupting the conjugates. Collectively, these findings suggest that RH1 antiserum interacts with structures present on the surfaces of cytotoxic lymphocytes that are involved in the activation of the lytic mechanism(s) or with the actual lytic molecule or molecules themselves. Furthermore, the ability of RH1 to inhibit ADCC, CMC, and NK during the post-binding cytolytic phase of these reactions indicates that binding and cytolysis are distinct and separate events in all types of cell-mediated cytolysis.     

Reticulocyte lipoxygenase, ingensin, and ATP-dependent proteolysis

Lipoxygenase purified from rabbit reticulocyte lysate has a molecular mass of 68 kDa on SDS gel and a pI of 5.97. Lipoxygenase is inhibited by nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), 3-amino-1-(m-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2-pyrazoline (BW755C), 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), salicylhydroxamate (SHAM) or hemin. Metal ions or nucleotides do not affect its activity. The addition of certain of these inhibitors to the reticulocyte extract also inhibited the ATP-dependent proteolysis of casein, one of the distinct characteristics of reticulocytes. No clear correlation between lipoxygenase activity and ATP-dependent proteolysis could be detected. Hemin and NDGA inhibited both processes, but the concentrations necessary for inhibition were quite different. SHAM completely inhibited lipoxygenase, but not proteolysis. o-Phenanthroline inhibited ATP-dependent proteolysis, but had no effect on lipoxygenase activity. We have also purified a high-molecular-mass protease, ingensin, from reticulocyte extract. This protease accounted for more than 90% of the casein-degrading activity in reticulocyte extract. NDGA inhibited ingensin at the same concentrations required for inhibition of ATP-dependent proteolysis. These results suggest that lipoxygenase is not indispensable for the ATP-dependent proteolysis and the novel high-molecular-mass protease, ingensin, may be involved in the process.     

Assessment of a role for phospholipase A2 and arachidonic acid metabolism in human lymphocyte natural cytotoxicity

The reagents quinacrine, hydrocortisone, and dexamethasone have been assumed to affect phospholipase A2 (PA2) when they reduce natural killer (NK) activity. However, these reagents did not reduce lymphocyte incorporation of [14C]arachidonate, which implies that they are not acting as PA2 inhibitors in this lymphocyte system. However, p-bromophenacyl bromide (BPB), which is an active site inhibitor of PA2, irreversibly abrogated NK activity of pretreated lymphocytes, disrupted target cell binding, and reduced [14C]arachidonic acid incorporation by 70-80% as compared to controls. Other observations contrary to expectations for PA2 inhibitors were: (1) quinacrine inhibited NK lysis when lymphocytes were pretreated and (2) the glucocorticoids only inhibited NK activity when continuously present in the assay. Furthermore, NK inhibition by hydrocortisone did not require protein synthesis. The lipoxygenase inhibitors, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), 5,8,11,14-eicosotetraynoic acid (ETYA), and hydroxyphenylretinamide, and not cycloxygenase inhibitors, reduced NK activity. These data suggest that arachidonate must be metabolized through the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in order to function in NK.     

Inhibition of postbinding target cell lysis and of lymphokine-induced enhancement of human natural killer cell activity by in vitro exposure to ultraviolet B radiation

In vitro exposure of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to ultraviolet B (uvB) radiation has been shown to inhibit natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent fashion. The purpose of this study was to examine the manner by which uvB produced these deleterious effects. Inhibition of NK activity was not due to lethal injury to NK cells since the viability of cell populations enriched for NK activity was greater than 90% with the uvB doses employed. uvB appeared to directly affect NK cells since procedures which removed suppressor mechanisms, such as removal of monocytes and pharmacologic inhibition of the cyclooxygenase pathway, failed to reverse the response. Furthermore, no suppression of activity of unirradiated NK cells could be produced by coincubation of unirradiated NK cells with uv-irradiated NK cells. When the single cell assay for binding and killing was employed to determine at which stage in the lytic sequence inhibition occurred, it was found that binding was normal but lysis of bound targets and the recycling capacity of active NK cells were markedly reduced. At uvB doses above 50 J/m2, both interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and interleukin 2 (IL-2) were ineffective in augmenting NK cell-mediated cytotoxic reactions after cells had been irradiated with uvB. Furthermore, incubation of NK cells with IFN-alpha prior to irradiation failed to protect against the inhibitory effects. These studies provide evidence that in vitro exposure of NK cells to uvB radiation inhibits their function by a direct nonlethal effect and that this inhibition occurs selectively at the postbinding stage of target cell lysis.