Selective transduction of human polymorphonuclear leukocyte functions by subsets of receptors for leukotriene B4.

Human polymorphonuclear leukocytes express two classes of receptors specific for leukotriene B4 (LTB4). The binding of LTB4 to the high-affinity, low-capacity receptors is critical in eliciting a chemotactic response, as assessed by the stereospecificity of binding and the loss of expression of high-affinity receptors after chemotactic deactivation. The stereospecificity and concentration dependence of LTB4 stimulation of granular enzyme release suggest that the low-affinity, high-capacity receptors mediate this response. Although the LTB4 receptors exhibit properties similar to those of the receptors for peptide chemotactic stimuli, the expression of both classes of receptors on intact polymorphonuclear leukocytes will permit a more complete assessment of the coupling of receptor occupancy to functional activation and the delineation of LTB4 receptor-level defects in human disease states.