Production of neutrophil-specific lipid chemoattractant activity by cultured endothelial cells: heterogeneity dependent on species, ligand, or endothelial cell site of origin.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the interaction of cultured bovine aortic and pulmonary arterial endothelial cells and the proinflammatory vasoactive amines histamine, serotonin, and angiotensin II, causes production of three novel lipid neutrophil-specific chemoattractants that are distinct from other phospholipid or lipid neutrophil chemoattractants. In this study, we investigated the species and site specificity of this inflammatory response by incubating human aortic and pulmonary arterial endothelial cells with histamine, serotonin, and angiotensin II and assaying the supernatants for their effect on neutrophil migration. Each of these vasoactive amines caused production of neutrophil chemoattractant activity in a concentration dependent manner in both cell types. For each amine, production was blocked by a specific antagonist: cimetidine for histamine, methiothepin for serotonin-stimulated aortas, ketanserin for serotonin-stimulated pulmonary arteries, and saralasin for angiotensin II. In each case, all chemoattractant activity partitioned into the organic phase and resolution by HPLC yielded two chemotactic lipids. As with the lipid chemoattractants produced by bovine endothelial cells, these lipids did not coelute with PAF, LTB4, 5-HETE, or 15-HETE, nor did they increase lymphocyte or monocyte migration. The pattern of chemotactic activity following resolution by HPLC was similar in both human aortic and pulmonary arterial endothelial cells, but was different from that of bovine aortic and pulmonary arterial endothelial cells in that only two chemoattractant lipids appeared; the third chemotactic lipid was never produced. These studies demonstrate that human endothelial cells may actively participate in neutrophil enriched local inflammatory responses by production of neutrophil-specific chemotactic factors. They also suggest this response may be dissimilar depending on the site and species from which the endothelial cells originate.