Maturational changes in superoxide anion production of rabbit alveolar macrophages.

We investigated the effect of maturation on the superoxide anion production of rabbit alveolar macrophages by endothelin-1, N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The O2- production by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate in young (0.2-0.3 kg) rabbits was as high as that in adult (3.0-3.5 kg) rabbits. However, when alveolar macrophages were stimulated by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine or preincubated with endothelin-1 before phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate stimulation, O2- production of young rabbits was relatively weak compared to adult rabbits. The present data indicate that the ability of O2- production is sufficiently developed with a chemotactic peptide which directly stimulates protein kinase C.