Alteration by flutamide of neutrophil response to stimulation. Implications for tissue injury.

When activated, inflammatory cells such as polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) can damage isolated hepatocytes in vitro. These studies were performed to determine if flutamide activates PMNs. Flutamide (Eulexin) is an orally active, nonsteroidal antiandrogen that can cause liver injury associated with inflammation. Activation of PMNs was assessed from the production of superoxide anion and the release of myeloperoxidase in the presence or absence of flutamide and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or f-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fmlp). In addition, hepatocytes were cocultured with PMNs stimulated with PMA or fmlp in the presence or absence of flutamide, and cytotoxicity to hepatocytes was evaluated from the release of alanine aminotransferase into the medium. Flutamide alone did not stimulate the generation of superoxide anion by PMNs but potentiated its production in response to PMA. At lower concentrations of flutamide (i.e. 25 microM), there was a tendency toward increased release of myeloperoxidase, whereas at higher concentrations (i.e. 75-100 microM) flutamide inhibited degranulation in response to fmlp. In coculture with hepatocytes, PMNs exposed to either flutamide, fmlp, or PMA alone caused a significant increase in release of alanine aminotransferase. Hepatocellular toxicity caused by PMNs incubated with flutamide and PMA was additive and was not affected by the addition of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Flutamide had no significant effect on fmlp-induced injury in cocultures. These data indicate that flutamide alters the activation of PMNs by subsequent stimuli in vitro. In addition, in the presence of flutamide, minor PMN-mediated injury to isolated hepatocytes was observed.