Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) activates human neutrophils--inhibition by chemotactic peptide antagonist BOC-MLP.

The effect of the neuropeptides substance P, neurokinin A and alpha-calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) on human neutrophil granulocytes was investigated. Substance P induced secondary granule secretion at a concentration of 100 microM. CGRP induced a significant secretory response at 10 microM and thus appeared to be about 10 times more potent than substance P. Calcitonin and a fragment of CGRP, CGRP(8-37), had no effect on neutrophil degranulation. The chemotactic peptide antagonist BOC-MLP (100 microM) inhibited lactoferrin secretion mediated both by CGRP and chemotactic peptide FMLP almost completely, while secretion in response to tumour necrosis factor (TNF) was unaffected. Results from receptor binding studies showed that CGRP and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) do not compete for binding. This indicates that CGRP does not exert its effects by binding to the chemotactic peptide receptor. CGRP induced a rapid increase in the cytosolic-free calcium concentration and this increase was not, unlike that induced by FMLP, abolished by preincubation of the cells with pertussis toxin (1000 ng/ml). Therefore CGRP signal transduction in neutrophils appears to involve rapid changes in the cytosolic-free calcium concentration but not a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein. In summary, this is the first report to show that CGRP can directly activate neutrophil granulocytes, and this probably occurs via a cell surface receptor which is distinct from that of FMLP although both the CGRP and FMLP-mediated effects can be blocked by BOC-MLP.