Modulation of polymorphonuclear leukocyte locomotion by synthetic amphiphiles: effect of saturated fatty acid esters (C2-C18) of poly(ethyleneglycol) 6000.

The capacity of synthetic amphiphiles poly(ethyleneglycol) 6000 (PEG) esterified with saturated fatty acids (C2-C18), to modify polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) locomotion has been investigated. It was noticed that PEG-myristate (M-PEG; C14) stimulated the random locomotion of PMNL populations in concentrations up to about 1 g/L. The esters with shorter aliphatic chains had negligible effects, whereas those with longer chains, PEG-palmitate (P-PEG; C16) and PEG-stearate (S-PEG; C18) reduced the locomotion, irrespectively of concentration. The ability of the PMNL to be stimulated by an attractant liberated from normal human serum was slightly impaired by M-PEG, but not by P-PEG. The response to M-PEG of individual PMNL was heterogeneous in that some cells were stimulated and others were inhibited. However, the average result was a reduction of the motility. This indicates that methods used for the study of the locomotion of cell populations may not always reflect the average behavior of the whole population. It was also concluded that the different effects of M-PEG and P-PEG owed to dissimilar effects on the membrane structure of the PMNL since (1) M-PEG perturbated the PMNL membrane more than P-PEG, as assayed by the release of superoxide anion (O2-), although the binding was smaller, and (2) M-PEG and P-PEG increased and decreased the membrane fluidity, respectively, as measured with fluorescent bleaching and recovery after bleaching of labeled PMNL. The results indicate a subtle coupling between membrane structure and PMNL locomotion.