Delayed neutrophil apoptosis after total body irradiation in mice. The role of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in neutrophil function.

We performed an in vitro study of the long-term effects of a sublethal dose (5 Gy) of x-irradiation on the survival and function of neutrophils in adult mice. For this purpose, we incubated control neutrophils harvested from long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMCs) with supernatant withdrawn from cultures obtained in adult mice 6 or 9 months postirradiation. We noted a significant increase in superoxide anion production, NADPH, and protein levels in these cells after 3, 6, and 15 hours of incubation compared with the same cells incubated with supernatant from control LTBMCs. We also observed a delay in apoptosis that was correlated with maintenance of adenosine triphosphate levels and survival. Similar differences were found when control LTBMC neutrophils were incubated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (1.3 nM). Indeed, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed a significant overproduction of this cytokine, together with higher interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-3 levels, in the supernatant from cultures of irradiated mice. Our results suggest that GM-CSF is one of the cytokines responsible for promoting the survival and activation of neutrophil function after total body irradiation.