Increased phospholipid mass with decreased arachidonoyl molecular species is associated with decreased eicosanoid synthesis and increased tumor necrosis factor synthesis by thioglycollate-elicited rat peritoneal macrophages.

Because the activation state of macrophages may alter their response to endotoxin, we compared phospholipid arachidonic acid content, and synthesis of eicosanoids and tumor necrosis factor by resident and thioglycollate-elicited rat peritoneal macrophages. Thioglycollate elicitation increased macrophage phospholipid mass twofold, increased the relative percentages of 16:0-20:4 diacylglycerophosphocholine (PtdCho) and 18:0-20:4 diacylglycerophosphoethanolamine (PtdEtn), and decreased the relative percentages of 18:0-20:4 alkenylacylglycerophosphoethanolamine (PlsEtn) and 18:0-20:4 alkylacylglycerophosphocholine (PakCho) compared with resident peritoneal macrophages. Thioglycollate-elicited macrophages synthesized significantly less thromboxane B2, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, and prostaglandin E2 and more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity in response to both endotoxin and A23187 than did resident macrophages. These results suggest that thioglycollate elicitation decreases specific arachidonic acid-containing molecular species in PlsEtn and PakCho, which may, in part, explain the decrease in eicosanoid and increase in TNF synthesis by thioglycollate-elicited macrophages. The differences between resident and thioglycollate-elicited macrophages in the synthesis of the eicosanoids and TNF activity was not altered by increasing either the concentration of either stimulus or the incubation time.