Inhibitors of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase suppress lipopolysaccharide-induced nitrite formation in macrophages.

Stimulating bone marrow derived macrophages with LPS results in the induction of NO-synthase as measured by NO2- formation. Inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase, namely nicotinamide, 3-aminobenzamide and 3-methoxybenzamide, prevented NO2- formation in a dose dependent manner. Inhibition was most effective if the inhibitors were added at the same time as LPS. When added 10 h after exposure to LPS, a time at which expression of the enzyme had reached its maximum, no inhibition was observed. The inhibitors also blocked early events in activation such as protein and RNA-synthesis as well as DNA-synthesis. Thus prevention of NO2- formation may be related to inhibition of these events. Activation of macrophages by LPS was not accompanied by an increase but rather by a small decrease in ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. Whether this decrease plays a physiological role in activation needs further exploration.