Activation of the oxidative burst in human monocytes is associated with inhibition of methionine-dependent methylation of neutral lipids and phospholipids.

Chemotaxis and generation of the oxidative burst by phagocytes are among the biological functions thought to require methylation reaction(s) for their expression. The present study investigated the effect of different stimuli of the oxidative burst on lipid methylation by human elutriated monocytes as measured by methyl group incorporation from [methyl-3H]methionine into both phospholipid and neutral lipid extracts. Normal monocytes, incubated at 37 degrees C for 1 h with 2 microM methionine, incorporated 10.2-fmol/10(6) cells and 73.6-fmol/10(6) cells of methyl groups into neutral lipids and phospholipids, respectively. Stimulators of the respiratory burst, such as the chemotactic peptide N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine, the tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate, and the calcium ionophore, A23187, decreased the incorporation of methyl groups into both neutral lipids and phospholipids in a similar manner. Increasing the concentration of methionine in the medium reversed or attenuated the inhibition achieved at lower levels. An inverse relationship existed between the degree of methylation and the extent of stimulation of the oxidative burst, measured as superoxide anion (O-2) release. Stimulated monocytes oxidized methionine to methionine sulfoxide (which cannot act as a methyl-donor), and this was dependent on activation of the respiratory burst. Elimination of the accumulated methionine sulfoxide by replacement of the medium or by prevention of extracellular methionine oxidation by catalase did not effectively restore the normal level of methylation in stimulated cells, and the reduced methylation was not primarily related to a defective methionine uptake by stimulated monocytes. These data suggest that intracellular events related to activation of the respiratory burst are responsible for the decreased lipid methylation in stimulated cells, possibly by their leading to intracellular formation of methionine sulfoxide and by their limiting the availability of methyl-donor. This mechanism may be of potential relevance for the expression of biological functions where methionine-dependent reactions are involved.