Selective inhibition of protein kinase C, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and neutrophil activation in response to calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals, formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, and phorbol ester by O-(chloroacetyl-carbamoyl) fumagillol (AGM-1470; TNP-470).

The effect of O-(chloroacetyl-carbamoyl) fumagillol (AGM-1470; TNP-470) was investigated on protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation in neutrophils stimulated by plasma-opsonized crystals of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (triclinic) [CPPD(T)], formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP), and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Neutrophil respiratory burst responses also were determined in AGM-1470-pretreated cells stimulated with the same agonists, using chemiluminescence and superoxide anion generation assays. AGM-1470 (5 microM) effectively inhibited PKC activation in cells treated with CPPD(T) crystals (50 mg/mL, 2 min) and fMLP (1 microM, 1 min), but had no effect on PMA-treated cells (0.5 microM, 5 min). AGM-1470 blocked MAPK activity completely and reduced neutrophil activation induced by fMLP and PMA but not by CPPD(T). The degree of inhibition of the respiratory burst plateaued at approximately 46+/-9 and 54+/-3% in fMLP- and PMA-treated cells, respectively. These data indicate that activation of neutrophil respiratory burst activity may be mediated through the MAPK pathway. AGM-1470 pretreatment did not inhibit CPPD(T) crystal- or fMLP-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) activity. These findings, coupled with further observations that the PI 3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin (10 nM) inhibited fMLP- and CPPD(T) crystal-induced but not PMA-induced chemiluminescence, indicate that at least two distinct signaling pathways (mediated by PI 3-kinase or MAPK) lead to neutrophil respiratory burst responses. PKC may also be required in the MAPK-stimulated pathway. We propose that the inhibitory effect of AGM-1470 on the neutrophil respiratory burst may be due to its ability to inhibit PKC and MAPK activation.