Induction of cytosolic phospholipase A2 and prostaglandin H2 synthase-2 by lipopolysaccharide in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) produce arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites including thromboxane A2 (TXA2). These cells are the first line of defense against bacterial invasion, which often causes endotoxin shock. TXA2 which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of endotoxin shock is synthesized by three consecutive enzyme activation, cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), prostaglandin H2 synthase (PHS type 1 and type 2) and TXA2 synthase. Among them, cPLA2- and PHS-2 activity is known to be transcriptionally and/or posttranscriptionally up-regulated by various bioactive substances including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial endotoxin, in many cell types. We investigated the action of LPS on TXA2 synthesis in human PMNs. A23187-stimulated production of thromboxane B2 (TXB2, a stable metabolite of TXA2), assayed by specific radioimmunoassay (RIA), was significantly increased from 566.7+/-44.1 pg/10(6) cells to 966.7+/-44.1 pg/10(6) cells (p<0.05) after 6 h-exposure to LPS at the concentration of 100 ng/ml. Messenger RNA for PHS-2, PHS-1, TXA2 synthase and cPLA2, which was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), was expressed in PMNs without LPS stimulation. Although PHS-2 was putatively an inducible enzyme, abundance of mRNA for PHS-2 in PMNs without LPS stimulation was detectable. Messenger RNA abundance for PHS-2 and cPLA2, but not for PHS-1 and TXA2 synthase, was enhanced by LPS-treatment, indicating that the increased production of TXB2 was attributable to the up-regulation of cPLA2 and PHS-2. We conclude that (1) PHS-2 plays a more important role than PHS-1 in the production of TXA2 in human PMNs and (2) TXA2 synthesis in human PMNs is transcriptionally up-regulated by new induction of cPLA2 as well as PHS-2, when the cells encounter endotoxin producing bacteria.