Complement receptor-mediated signal transduction in human neutrophils : A role for protein kinase C in the phagocytic process

• The neutrophil granulocyte comprises the first line of human defense against invading microorganisms. A versatile motile machinery enables the cell to migrate to the inflammatory site and there engulf and destroy the pathogens by phagocytosis. Engulfment is facilitated by opsonization of the microbes with C3b or C3bi complement fragments or with immunoglobulins, proteins which respectively bind to complement receptors (CRs) and Fe receptors on the neutrophil surface. The aim of the present thesis was to investigate the transmembrane signaling events involved in receptor-mediated engulfment. Experimentially induced inhibition of the phagocytic capacity of human neutrophils could be reversed by pretrcating the cells with protein kinase C (PKC)-activating agents such as PMA and a synthetic diglyceride. This indirectly suggests an important role for PKC in the process of engulfment. Presentation of opsonized yeast particles to neutrophils stimulated the phosphoinositide signaling pathway, resulting in an accumulation of Ins(1,4,5)P3 (IP3) and diglyceride (DG; the endogenous activator of PKC) with a time kinetic correlating that of the cellular uptake of the particles. However, in calcium-depleted neutrophils, formation of IP3 was totally abolished during phagocytosis of complement-opsonized yeast particles, thereby excluding this signal as a regulator of the engulfment process. DG, on the other hand, was still produced in these cells, suggesting a source other than phosphatidylinositols for the generation of this second messenger. Further studies revealed that a major part of CR-mediated DG formation originated from phospholipase D (PLD)-mediated hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC). The presence of DG suggested a subsequent activation of PKC, which was confirmed by the demonstration of CR-mediated phosphorylation of a well-known PKC substrate, myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS). Moreover, the activity of PLD was shown to be regulated by PKC, which stimulated the production of its own activator by enhancing the activity of the lipase: PKC should thereby be able to maintain its own activity.Furthermore, we could also show that both CRI and CR3 can mediate PLO activation and that the degree of this activation is potentiated by PMA pretreatment and dependent on the fonn of ligand presentation. In conclusion, CR-mediated phagocytosis is associated with PLDmediated hydrolysis of PC and stimulation of PKC, the activity of the latter enzyme appears to be an important regulatory event in the engulfment process.

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