Effect of antiinflammatory agents on neutrophil superoxide production in rheumatoid arthritis.

Granulocyte superoxide production by different stimuli was studied in 14 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, and in four cases defective O(2) generation was shown. The effect of two chemically related drugs, such as indomethacin and oxamethacin, was also evaluated, since we have previously investigated the action of antiinflammatory agents on cell locomotion. Indomethacin did not affect O(2) production, whereas oxamethacin reduced significantly superoxide generation in PMNs from all subjects tested. Moreover, the extent of the effect was dependent on the stimulant used, being larger when the activation of O(2) generating system was induced by opsonized zymosan.