OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of substance P (SP) on the functional proteins on plasma membrane of neutrophil (Np).

METHODThe response of Np to SP was examined by measuring the level of respiratory burst, the activities of ACP and ALP, the fluoroscopy intensity of CR3, CD45 and FM-LP.

RESULTSIt was found that SP could increase respiratory burst of Np, decrease the activity of acid phosphatase (ACP), but had no effect on alkaline phosphatase (ALP). SP could also promote the amount of CD45, complement receptor type 3 (CR3) and N-Formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP) receptors.

CONCLUSIONThe results showed that the effects of SP on functional proteins in human Np membrane were universality and diversity. It implied that SP could affect various inflammation responses in Np.

Acid Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; physiology ; Neutrophils ; metabolism ; Respiratory Burst ; Substance P ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVEAsthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are representative chronic inflammatory airway diseases responsible for a considerable burden of disease. In this article, we reviewed the relationship between neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and chronic inflammatory airway diseases.

DATA SOURCESArticles published up to January 1, 2017, were selected from the PubMed, Ovid Medline, Embase databases, with the keywords of "asthma" or "pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive", "neutrophils" and "extracellular traps."

STUDY SELECTIONArticles were obtained and reviewed to analyze the role of NETs in asthma and COPD.

RESULTSNETs are composed of extracellular DNA, histones, and granular proteins, which are released from activated neutrophils. Multiple studies have indicated that there are a large amount of NETs in the airways of asthmatics and COPD patients. NETs can engulf and kill invading pathogens in the host. However, disordered regulation of NET formation has shown to be involved in the development of asthma and COPD. An overabundance of NETs in the airways or lung tissue could cause varying degrees of damage to lung tissues by inducing the death of human epithelial and endothelial cells, and thus resulting in impairing pulmonary function and accelerating the progress of the disease.

CONCLUSIONSExcessive NETs accumulate in the airways of asthmatics and COPD patients. Although NETs play an essential role in the innate immune system against infection, excessive components of NETs can cause lung tissue damage and accelerate disease progression in asthmatics and COPD patients. These findings suggest that administration of NETs could be a novel approach to treat asthma and COPD. Mechanism studies, clinical practice, and strategies to regulate neutrophil activation or directly interrupt NET function in asthmatics and COPD patients are desperately needed.

Animals ; Asthma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Extracellular Traps ; metabolism ; physiology ; Humans ; Neutrophils ; metabolism ; pathology ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; metabolism ; pathology

Neutrophils play a major role in host defense against microbial infection. There are some clues indicate that neutrophils may also play a role in the pathophysiology of the airway obstruction in chronic asthma. We studied the roles of intracellular calcium and GTP gamma S in the regulation of neutrophils exocytosis using pipette perfusion and membrane capacitance measurement technique in whole cell patch clamp configuration. The results showed that the membrane capacitance increase induced by calcium revealed a biphasic process. The first phase occurred when the calcium level was between 0.2-14 micromol/L with a plateau amplitude of 1.23 pF and a calcium EC50 of 1.1 micromol/L. This phase might correspond to the release of the tertiary granules. The second phase occurred when the calcium concentration was between 20-70 micromol/L with a plateau increment of 6.36 pF, the calcium EC50 being about 33 micromol/L. This phase might represent the release of the primary and secondary granules. Intracellular calcium also simultaneously increased the exocytotic rate and the eventual extent in neutrophils. On the other hand, GTP gamma S can increase the exocytotic rate in a dose-dependent manner but had no effect on the eventual extent of membrane capacitance increment (>6 pF) if the cell was stimulated for a long period (>20 min). GTP gamma S (ranging from 20 to 100 micromol/L) induced the neutrophils to release all four types of the granules at very low intracellular calcium level.
Calcium ; metabolism ; Cell Degranulation ; drug effects ; Exocytosis ; drug effects ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; physiology ; Guanosine Triphosphate ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Neutrophils ; metabolism ; physiology ; Patch-Clamp Techniques

Neutrophils are the predominant inflammatory cells found in vaginal discharges of patients infected with Trichomonas vaginalis. In this study, we examined superoxide anion (O2(.-)) production by neutrophils activated by T. vaginalis. Human neutrophils produced superoxide anions when stimulated with either a lysate of T. vaginalis, its membrane component (MC), or excretory-secretory product (ESP). To assess the role of trichomonad protease in production of superoxide anions by neutrophils, T. vaginalis lysate, ESP, and MC were each pretreated with a protease inhibitor cocktail before incubation with neutrophils. Superoxide anion production was significantly decreased by this treatment. Trichomonad growth was inhibited by preincubation with supernatants of neutrophils incubated for 3 hr with T. vaginalis lysate. Furthermore, myeloperoxidase (MPO) production by neutrophils was stimulated by live trichomonads. These results indicate that the production of superoxide anions and MPO by neutrophils stimulated with T. vaginalis may be a part of defense mechanisms of neutrophils in trichomoniasis.
Anions/*metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Neutrophils/enzymology/*metabolism/parasitology ; Peroxidase/metabolism ; Superoxides/*metabolism ; Trichomonas Infections/enzymology/*metabolism/parasitology ; Trichomonas vaginalis/*isolation & purification/physiology

BACKGROUNDAccumulating evidence indicates that systemic inflammation response is associated with the prognosis of various cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), which is one of the systemic inflammation markers, in the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after treatment of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).

METHODSThe clinical data of 178 HCC patients who received TACE were retrospectively analyzed. The optimal NLR cutoff was determined according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. All patients were divided into NLR-normal group and NLR-elevated group according to the cutoff, and the clinical features of these two groups were comparatively analyzed. Meanwhile, the overall survival and disease free survival (DFS) were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The risk factors of postoperative survival were investigated using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses.

RESULTSThe optimal NLR cutoff was defined at 1.85 and 42 (23.6%) patients had an elevated NLR (NLR>1.85). The median survival time was 9.5 months (range 1-99 months). The clinical data between the two groups were comparable, except for a-fetoprotein. Follow-up results showed that the median survival of patients with normal NLR was 17.5 months (range: 1-99 months) compared with 8 months (range: 8-68 months) of patients with elevated NLR. The 1, 3 and 5-year overall survival of patients in the NLR-normal group and NLR-elevated group were 57.3%, 44.1%, and 27.2% and 42.1%, 19.6%, and 9.5% respectively (χ(2) = 194.2, P < 0.001). Similarly, the disease free survival also has a significant difference (χ(2) = 39.3, P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that a high NLR was an independent factor affecting the survival rate of HCC after TACE (P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONPreoperative NLR was an important prognostic factor to predict the prognosis of patients with intermediate HCC treated with TACE.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; therapy ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; physiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neutrophils ; metabolism ; physiology

The role of surfactant protein A (SP-A) in the recognition and clearance of apoptotic cells is well established, but to date, it is still not clear which surface molecules of apoptotic cells are involved in the process. Here we present evidence that phosphatidylserine (PS) is a relevant binding molecule for human SP-A. The binding is Ca(2+)-dependent and is not inhibited by mannose, suggesting that the sugar-binding site of the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) of SP-A is not involved. Flow cytometry studies on apoptotic Jurkat cells revealed apparent inhibition of annexin V binding by increasing concentrations of SP-A in late apoptotic but not early apoptotic cells, and this was consistent for Jurkat cells and neutrophils. Supporting these data, confocal microscopy results show a co-localisation of annexin V and SP-A in late apoptotic but not early apoptotic cells. However, we cannot conclude that this inhibition is exclusively due to the binding of SP-A to PS on the cell surface, as annexin V is not wholly specific for PS and SP-A also interacts with other phospholipids that might become exposed on the apoptotic cell surface.
Annexin A5 ; metabolism ; Apoptosis ; Carboxy-Lyases ; metabolism ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Jurkat Cells ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Neutrophils ; physiology ; Phosphatidylserines ; metabolism ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein A ; metabolism

Neutrophil adhesion and migration are critical in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Despite very strong preclinical data, recent clinical trials failed to show a protective effect of anti-adhesion therapy in reperfusion injury. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the role of CD44 in neutrophil infiltration and liver injury from hepatic I/R. In this study, using a partial hepatic ischemic model in vivo, we determined the potential role of CD44 in neutrophil infiltration and liver injury from I/R. Reperfusion caused significant hepatocellular injury as it was determined by plasma ALT levels and liver histopathology. The injury was associated with a marked neutrophil recruitment and CD44 expression into the ischemic livers. Administration of anti-CD44 antibody to mice reduced the infiltration of neutrophil into the ischemic tissue, associated with liver function preservation. These results support crucial roles of CD44 in neutrophil recruitment and infiltration leading to liver damage in hepatic I/R injury. Moreover, they provide the rationale for targeting to CD44 as a potential therapeutic approach in liver I/R injury.
Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Animals ; Antibodies/immunology/pharmacology ; Antigens, CD44/immunology/metabolism/*physiology ; Cytokines/metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Liver/*metabolism/pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Neutrophils/immunology/physiology ; Reperfusion Injury/metabolism/pathology/*prevention & control

The aim of this study was to examine the priming effect of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) on fMLP-activated neutrophils, mainly to detect the neutrophil respiratory burst products, and to investigate the signaling pathway involved in S1P activity. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the new isolated neutrophil; the superoxide anion output was detected indirectly by cytochrome C reduction in respiratory burst; the dihydro-rhodamine 123 was used to detect the intensity of respiratory burst; the signal transduction pathways of neutrophil respiratory burst were explored by Western blot. The results showed that after pretreated with S1P, the level of superoxide anion released by fMLP-activated neutrophils significantly increased; the Rhodamine 123 mean fluorescence intensity in S1P primed fMLP-activated neutrophils group was significantly higher than that in fMLP treatment group; PI3K and Akt proteins involved in the signal pathway of neutrophil respiratory burst. It is concluded that S1P is a new priming reagent, which primes respiratory burst of fMLP-activated neutrophils; this signal pathway may be that S1P interacts with its receptor, activates PI3K, then activates Akt-transmitting signals through NADPH oxidase, finally results in the respiratory burst.
Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Lysophospholipids ; metabolism ; NADPH Oxidases ; metabolism ; Neutrophils ; metabolism ; physiology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Receptors, Lysosphingolipid ; metabolism ; Respiratory Burst ; Signal Transduction ; Sphingosine ; analogs & derivatives ; metabolism ; Superoxides ; metabolism

Neutrophils are also known to acquire the characteristics of dendritic cells (DCs) under the appropriate conditions. In this study, neutrophils were cultivated in vitro in the presence or absence of compounds modulating their survival in an attempt to characterize the expression profile of the DC markers. Higher MHC-II, CD80, CD86, CD83, and CD40 expression levels were detected on the surface of the cultured neutrophils for 24 h than on the freshly isolated cells. The annexin V-positive cells showed a higher expression level of the DC markers than the annexin V-negative cells. The population of neutrophils double stained with annexin V and the DC markers increased after being incubated with agonistic anti-Fas Ab. LPS, the anti-apoptotic compound, decreased the CD86 and MHC-II expression levels but 50-60% of the DC marker-positive cells were detected in the annexin V-positive cells. In contrast, CD80, CD86, CD83, and HLA-DR mRNA levels increased in the GM-CSF-treated neutrophils but not in the anti-Fas Ab-treated neutrophils. T cell proliferation was inhibited by co-culturing them with anti-Fas Ab- or LPS-treated neutrophils at a high neutrophil:T cell ratio. However, the superantigen-mediated T cell proliferation was increased by the LPS-treated neutrophils but decreased by the anti-Fas Ab-treated neutrophils. There was a lower level of interferon-gamma production in the T cells co-cultured with anti-Fas Ab-treated neutrophils than with the LPS-treated neutrophils. This suggests that apoptotic neutrophils express DC markers on their surface and the differential expression of DC markers might have a detrimental effect on the immune reaction.
Antigen Presentation ; Antigens, CD/biosynthesis ; Antigens, CD95/pharmacology ; Antigens, Differentiation/*biosynthesis ; *Apoptosis ; Cells, Cultured ; Dendritic Cells/*metabolism ; Humans ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology ; Lymphocyte Activation ; Neutrophils/*metabolism/physiology ; T-Lymphocytes/immunology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the method and mechanism for exercise-related immunosuppression via the inhibitor of NADPH oxidase diphenyleneiodonium(DPI) and glutamine supplementation and on the function of neutrophils after overtraining.

METHODSFifty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: a negative control group (C), an overtraining group (E), an overtraining + DPI intervention group (D), an overtraining+ glutamine supplementation group(G) and combined glutamine + DPI intervention group(DG). After 36 - 40 h from the last training, eight rats were randomly selected from each group, and blood was sampled from the orbital vein. ELISAs were used to measure serum cytokine levels and lipid peroxidation in blood plasma. Flow cytometry was used to measure neutrophil respiratory burst and phagocytosis. The activity of NADPH oxidase was assessed by chemiluminescence and the gene expression of gp91(phox) and p47(phox) of the NADPH-oxidase subunit was checked by Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with group C, the plasma concentrations of NO increased in group G, and the NO, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) concentrations in group DG increased significantly. The respiratory burst and phagocytosis function of neutrophils were decreased in group E, but in group DG were increased when compared with those of group E. After overtraining the expression of gp91(phox) and p47(phox) was up regulated in group E. There were no significant changes in other groups except group DG, in which the expression of gp91(phox) was down regulated. Compared with group E, the expression of gp91(phox) and p47(phox) was up regulated in group D, group G and group DG.

CONCLUSIONThe activation of NADPH oxidase is responsible for the production of superoxide anions, which may be related to the decrease in neutrophil function after over training and is the mechanism of exercise-related immunosuppression. The DPI treatment combined glutamine supplementation can reverse the decrease neutrophils function after overtraining in vitro.

Animals ; Dietary Supplements ; Glutamine ; pharmacology ; Hyperkinesis ; physiopathology ; Male ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; metabolism ; NADPH Oxidase 2 ; NADPH Oxidases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Neutrophils ; metabolism ; physiology ; Onium Compounds ; pharmacology ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Respiratory Burst ; physiology