followed by PMA may be due to diminished translocation of the p47-phox and p67-phox, cytosolic components of the oxidase, and inhibition of arachidonic acid release. Interestingly calyculin A pretreatment followed by either agonist significantly enhanced mitogen-activated-protein kinase (MAPK) activity. The differential effects of pretreatment with calyculin A on subsequent oxidase s t i m u l a t i o n elicited by FMLP or PMA provide further evidence for substantial heterogeneity in the acti-vation of the respiratory burst.Keywords: NADPH-oxidase, calyculin A, p47-phox, p67-phox, arachidonic acid
IntroductionStimulation of neutrophils causes a "respiratory burst" including increased oxygen consumption and the generation of reactive oxygen metabolites such as O 2 -and H 2 O 2 , which provide a major bactericidal mechanism in these cells (Babior, 1984a). The enzymatic activity responsible for this respiratory burst resides in membrane-bound NADPH-oxidase, which reduces molecular oxygen to O 2 -( B a b i o r, 1984b). The NADPH-oxidase consists of integral membrane proteins (cytochrome b558) (Cross e t a l . , 1981; Gabig and Lefker, 1984) and "soluble" (cytoplasmic/ cytoskeletal) components. The latter include p47-phox, p67-phox, and rac 2, a ras-related GTP-binding protein (Nunoi et al., 1988;Lomax et al., 1990;Abo et al., 1991a;Abo and Pick, 1991b;Uhlinger et al., 1993). The oxidase is dormant in resting cells, but can be activated by both particulate and soluble stimuli (Babior et al., 1975; Babior, 1984b). The mechanism for the activation of the oxidase is very complex and has been the subject of intense study. Several studies have indicated the involvement of diacylglycerol (DG) /protein kinase C (PKC) , since PKC activators, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) (De Chatelet et al., 1 9 7 6 ) and some DGs (Fujita et al., 1984; Cox et al., 1 9 8 6 ) , activate the NADPH-oxidase system. Stimulation of neutrophils with receptor-linked agonists such as Nformyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) results in the activation of PLC β 2 and hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, leading to the generation of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate, a calcium m e s s e n g e r, and DG (Volp et al., 1983; Ohta et al., 1 9 8 5 ;Smith et al., 1986).Activation of the oxidase involves the translocation of a fraction (<10%) of p47-phox and p67-phox to the plasmalemma where the functional complex is assembled Nauseef et al., 1991;Tyagi et al., 1 9 9 2 ) . One route of stimulation that occurs with activators of PKC, such as PMA, involves multisite phosphorylation of p47-phox (Heyworth and Badwey, 1990). PKC can catalyze the phosphorylation of p47-phox in vitro ( K r a m e r et al., 1988;Pilloud-Dagher et al., 1992;Uhlinger and Perry, 1992b) and the predicted sequence of p47-phox contains several potential phosphorylation sites for this kinase (Lomax et al., 1989). It has been suggested that the NADPH-oxidase activity in neutrophils may be regulated by the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation state of p47-phox which is a func...