Receptor-mediated activation of electropermeabilized neutrophils. Evidence for a Ca2+- and protein kinase C-independent signaling pathway.

Electrically permeabilized neutrophils were used to study the mechanism of activation of the respiratory burst by the chemotactic agent formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Permeabilization was assessed by flow cytometry, radioisotope trapping, and by the requirement for exogenous NADPH for oxygen consumption. A respiratory burst could be elicited by fMLP, phorbol ester, or diacylglycerol in permeabilized cells suspended in EGTA-buffered medium with 100 nM free Ca2+. The fMLP response persisted even in cells depleted of intracellular Ca2+ stores by pretreatment with ionomycin. Therefore, a change in cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) is not required for receptor-mediated stimulation of the respiratory burst. The responses induced by phorbol ester and diacylglycerol were largely inhibited by H7, a protein kinase C antagonist. In contrast, the stimulation of oxygen consumption by fMLP was unaffected by H7. These results suggest that a third signaling pathway, distinct from changes in [Ca2+]i and activation of protein kinase C, is involved in the response of neutrophils to chemoattractants.