Bacterial lipopolysaccharide primes human neutrophils for enhanced release of arachidonic acid and causes phosphorylation of an 85-kD cytosolic phospholipase A2.

Production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) by human neutrophils (PMN) in response to different stimuli is increased after pretreatment with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). We have analyzed the steps in arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism affected by LPS by examining release of AA and its metabolites from [3H]AA prelabeled PMN. Pretreatment of PMN for 60 min with up to 1 microgram/ml of LPS alone had no effect, but release of [3H]AA was stimulated up to fivefold during subsequent stimulation with a second agent. In the absence of LPS-binding protein (LBP), priming was maximal after pretreatment of PMN with 10 ng of LPS/ml for 60 min; in the presence of LBP maximal priming occurred within 45 min at 0.1 ng of LPS/ml and within 15 min at 100 ng of LPS/ml. Treatment of PMN with 10 ng of LPS/ml also increased uptake of opsonized zymosan by up to 60%. Phospholipids are the source of released [3H]AA. No release was observed from [14C]oleic acid (OA)-labeled PMN suggesting that phospholipolysis may be specific for [3H]AA-labeled phospholipid pools. Cytosol from PMN primed with LPS contains two to three times the phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity of control PMN, against 1-palmitoyl-[2-14C]arachidonoyl-phosphatidylcholine. This activity is Ca2+ dependent and dithiothreitol resistant. LPS priming is accompanied by reduced migration during SDS-PAGE of an 85-kD protein, identified as a cytosolic PLA2. The extent and kinetics of this effect of LPS on cPLA2 parallel the priming of [3H]AA release, both depending on LPS concentration either with or without LBP. These findings suggest that priming by LPS of AA metabolism by PMN includes phosphorylation of an AA-phospholipid-selective cytosolic PLA2 that is dissociated from activation until a second stimulus is applied.