Enhanced release of hydrogen peroxide and metabolites of arachidonic acid by macrophages from SENCAR mice following stimulation with phorbol esters.

Chronic inflammation has long been associated with carcinogenesis. Phorbol esters which are potent promoters of tumors in mouse skin are also potent inflammatory agents in skin and cause inflammatory cells to release large quantities of reactive oxygen intermediates and oxidized lipid products. SENCAR mice have been bred for their sensitivity to the promotion of tumors by phorbol esters and C57BL/6 mice have been shown to be resistant. We quantified the release of H2O2 and metabolites of arachidonic acid by macrophages obtained from SENCAR and C57BL/6 mice, following exposure to phorbol esters and other stimulants. The basal level for secretion of H2O2 in resident peritoneal macrophages was negligible in cells from both strains. Conversely, inflammatory macrophages from SENCAR mice, elicited by the injection of sterile casein, secreted 4 times more H2O2 than the corresponding cells from C57BL/6 mice. Furthermore, cells from SENCAR mice required less than one-third the amount of phorbol ester to obtain 50% of the maximal response than that required by cells from C57BL/6 mice. This difference was less when zymosan was used as a stimulant. Both resident and inflammatory macrophages from SENCAR mice released more metabolites of arachidonic acid than cells from C57BL/6 mice when exposed to phorbol esters, but macrophages from C57BL/6 mice released more metabolites when stimulated with zymosan. Few differences in the pattern of released metabolites were noted between the strains of mice. There were large differences in the relative amounts of individual metabolites released when different stimulants were used. The enhanced response to phorbol esters of chronic inflammatory cells from SENCAR mice correlates with the enhanced sensitivity to the promotion of tumors by phorbol esters in these animals.