The significance of functional receptor heterogeneity in the biological responses of the rabbit neutrophil to stimulation by chemotactic formyl peptides.

The characteristics of binding to the chemotactic receptors on rabbit peritoneal neutrophils were examined for seven formyl peptide analogues. These receptor-binding characteristics were compared with the abilities of the analogues to induce the biological responses of degranulation and chemotaxis. Five of the analogues showed distinct functional heterogeneity in their receptor-binding patterns, whereas the two most potent compounds displayed homogeneous binding patterns. The relative potencies of the formyl peptide analogues for stimulation of degranulation correlated well with their relative potencies for high-affinity, but not low-affinity, binding. The biphasic patterns for stimulation of chemotactic migration were similar for the less potent analogues, and their potencies paralleled those for both degranulation and receptor binding. In contrast, the most potent analogues induced a greater maximal extent of chemotactic migration than the other compounds, but displayed a lower than expected potency (i.e. they required higher than expected concentrations). These anomalies in the patterns of the chemotactic response cannot be reconciled with a simple receptor model comprising two independent classes of receptors. Instead, a model comprising interconvertible states of different affinities is proposed. The state of higher affinity appears to play a central role in initiation of both degranulation and chemotaxis. The more potent formyl peptide analogues are thought to stabilize an activated, higher-affinity, state of the receptor; this can explain their greater efficacy in stimulating chemotaxis. The proposed model may also be applicable to other receptors that are coupled by a guanine-nucleotide-binding regulatory protein to their associated effector.