The in vivo effect of leukotriene B4 on polymorphonuclear leukocytes and the microcirculation. Comparison with activated complement (C5a des Arg) and enhancement by prostaglandin E2.

The effect of synthetic leukotriene B4 (LTB4) on chemotaxis in vivo (51Cr-polymorphonuclear leukocyte [PMN] accumulation) was examined and its potency compared with that of C5a des Arg-containing zymosan-activated plasma (ZAP). On a molar basis the amount of C5a des Arg calculated to be in our preparation of ZAP was found to be up to approximately 80 times more potent than LTB4, although in vitro the two chemotaxins have been reported to be about equipotent. ZAP is more representative of what may happen in vivo than its principal constituent C5a des Arg, but for a more precise comparison the purified and isolated peptide will have to be compared with synthetic LTB4. Whereas ZAP induced severe PMN-dependent microvascular injury (increase in vessel permeability [125I-albumin] and hemorrhage [59Fe-erythrocytes]), LTB4 only induced an increase in vascular permeability, and this occurred only in the presence of simultaneously injected prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). PGE2 also enhanced substantially the number of PMNs and the amount of exuded plasma at injection sites of the chemotaxins. However, unlike in two other reports, LTB4 did not cause an immediate transient increase in vessel permeability, nor did it enhance the permeability-increasing effect of bradykinin. Furthermore, unlike PGE2 LTB4 did not induce an increase in blood flow, but a decrease (57Co-microspheres). It is concluded that LTB4 may act as a host-derived chemoattractant in vivo, but, compared with that of ZAP (primarily activated complement), its role in acute inflammation is probably less significant than that of the complement-derived chemotaxin(s).