Anti-inflammatory effects and specificity of L-156,602: comparison of effects on concanavalin A and zymosan-induced footpad edema, and contact sensitivity response.

We investigated the in vivo selective anti-inflammatory effect of L-156,602, which was first identified as a preferential delayed-type hypersensitivity-suppressant in our screening program and first reported to be a C5a antagonist. The agent most profoundly suppressed footpad edema 4 h after elicitation by concanavalin A (con A) and also caused a significantly impaired response after a further 20 h. Footpad edema induced by either serotonin, carrageenan or zymosan was not much influenced by the agent. Although the dominant cell population that migrated in response to con A and zymosan 4 h after elicitation was neutrophils, L-156,602 specifically prevented the con-A-induced migration of neutrophils, suggesting a distinct mechanism of neutrophil recruitment between con A and zymosan-induced inflammation. The agent also reduced the contact-sensitivity response, especially in host mice sensitized with a moderate dose of picryl chloride and almost completely suppressed the infiltration of mononuclear leukocytes and neutrophils into the site of inflammation. These selective effects of L-156,602 on inflammatory reactions appeared to be not merely via C5a antagonism.