Activation of human neutrophils by Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra involves phospholipase C gamma 2, Shc adapter protein, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.

Recent studies have shown that human neutrophils play a significant protective role in mycobacteria infection. When encountered with mycobacteria, neutrophils exhibit the typical early bactericidal responses including phagocytosis and generation of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI), but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. The present study shows that stimulation of neutrophils with an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra (Mtb) led to a tyrosine kinase-dependent ROI production in these cells. Stimulation with Mtb induces a rapid and transient tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins, one of which was identified as phospholipase C gamma 2 (PLC gamma 2). Several tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were associated with the PLC gamma 2 precipitates from Mtb-stimulated neutrophils, of which pp46 was characterized as the Shc adapter protein. A role for PLC gamma 2-Shc association in the generation of ROI is supported by the observations that stimulation with Mtb causes the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), a downstream target of the Shc/Ras signaling cascade, and that the effect of genistein on ROI production coincided with its ability to inhibit both PLC gamma 2-Shc association and p38 MAPK activation. Moreover, pretreatment of neutrophils with a PLC inhibitor markedly suppresses the Mtb-stimulated ROI production as well as p38 MAPK activation in these cells. Taken together, these results indicate that stimulation of neutrophils with Mtb triggers the tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC gamma 2 and its association with Shc, and that such association is critical for the Mtb-stimulated ROI production through activating p38 MAPK.