Okadaic acid inhibits the signal responsible for activation of the NADPH-oxidase in neutrophils stimulated with serum-opsonized yeast.

The effects of the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid (OA) on human neutrophil phagocytic activity were investigated. The chemiluminescence response was found to be greatly reduced in OA-treated neutrophils during phagocytosis of serum opsonized yeast particles in comparison to control cells. However, the OA-treated neutrophils phagocytosed yeast particles to the same extent as control cells and the engulfment of the prey was accompanied by phagolysosomal formation in both OA-treated and nontreated cells. We thus found that the OA effect was selective in the sense that it inhibits the NADPH-oxidase activity in neutrophils phagocytosing yeast particles but not uptake of the prey or phagolysosomal formation. Based on the fact that the NADPH-oxidase activity induced by the chemoattractant formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine was not reduced but elevated in OA-treated neutrophils, we conclude that the state of phosphorylation has no direct effect on the oxidase, but is of importance for the NADPH-oxidase activating signal(s) generated during phagocytosis of the yeast particles.