Comparison of 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol and phorbol myristate acetate as secretagogues for human neutrophils.

Cellular responses induced in human neutrophils by the synthetic diacylglycerol, 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol (OAG), paralleled those induced by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Like PMA, OAG caused the preferential release of enzymes from specific granules and promoted superoxide (O2-) generation. The efficacy of OAG was similar to that for PMA, but its potency was lower by four orders of magnitude. First derivative kinetic analysis showed that rates of O2- generation elicited by PMA decayed exponentially in a first order manner; the half life was found to be 21 +/- 6 min. Results obtained in studies carried out with high OAG concentrations were similar except that after 40 min, the rate of decay increased and became complex order. This difference was attributed to the greater susceptibility of OAG to metabolic alteration, and was reflected in the NADPH oxidase activity of granule rich membrane fractions (GRF) of cells stimulated for 90 min with PMA or OAG. It was found that the O2- generating activity of the PMA treated GRF was significantly greater than that for the OAG treated fraction. Current evidence indicates that cellular responses arise from direct activation of protein kinase C by PMA-OAG. The stability of this complex and the bypassing of normal regulatory constraints may account for the relative longevity of the PMA-OAG O2- respiratory burst.