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C5a-induced neutrophilia. A primary humoral mechanism for recruitment of neutrophils.

The leukocytosis activity of C5a was studied in a rabbit model. Blood samples were drawn for cell counts through a catheter placed in an artery of one rabbit ear after injection of either porcine or human C5a into a vein in the opposite ear. These studies indicate the potential of C5a to mobilize bone marrow neutrophils following transient C5a-induced neutropenia, based on counts of nonsegmented neutrophils. The numbers of circulating neutrophils can be selectively elevated by 300% to 400%, within 1 to 2 hours, in rabbits given only microgram quantities (1 to 5 x 10(-9) mol/l) of C5a or C5adesArg. These quantities of C5a are equivalent to 1% to 2% of complement C5 activation. The time-course of the induced neutrophilia is characteristic of C5a, increasing rapidly in the first 10 to 20 minutes after injection and attaining a maximum level at 2 to 5 hours, then decreasing slowly to normal levels over the next 4 to 6 hours. After boiling at 100 degrees C for 10 minutes, C5a (C5ades Arg) lost its leukocytosis activity, indicating that the cellular effect was not caused by endotoxin. Other known leukocytosis factors, such as epinephrine, dexamethasone, lipopolysaccharide, and the prostanoid 15(S)-15-methyl PGF2 alpha, produced a distinctly different profile of leukocyte mobilization than that of C5a. The C5a-induced neutrophilia was not inhibited by pretreating these animals with indomethacin, suggesting that it is not a prostanoid-induced effect. One hypothesis is that no secondary cellular mediator system is involved in C5a-mediated leukocytosis, but rather than C5a alone is responsible for a rapid mobilization of neutrophils from bone marrow pools, and perhaps marginated pools, following neutropenia. Circulating neutrophils are activated by C5a and thereby become deformed and adherent, leading to a neutropenia, sequestration, and depletion of cells. After the neutropenic event an immediate neutrophilic response is required for replacement of this particular cell population and to re-establish homeostasis. Therefore the role of C5a may be just as important as other known leukocytosis factors (fragments from C3, for example) in promoting complement-dependent neutrophil mobilization in response to tissue injury, infections, or extracorporeal blood treatments.

Animals

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.

The Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome is associated in about 65% of cases with small cell carcinoma, a tumour of neurosecretory origin. It is characterised physiologically by a decrease in the nerve evoked quantal release of acetylcholine, and in the resting non-quantal release ("molecular leakage"). The associations with autoimmune disease, with other autoantibodies, with HLA-B8, and with the IgG heavy chain marker Glm (2) are consistent with an autoimmune aetiology. Clinical and electromyographic responses to plasma exchange point to a humorally mediated disorder. This has been substantiated by passive transfer of the the main electrophysiological features of LEMS to mice by daily injections of LEMS IgG. Plasma was no more effective in inducing the electrophysiological changes than the IgG fraction. The decrease in quantal content appeared closely to follow the level of human IgG in the mouse serum and complement (C5) deficient mice were as susceptible as normal controls. The principal physiological abnormalities are both Ca2+ dependent processes, suggesting that a defect in Ca2+ transport may underlie the disorder. Preliminary studies of quantal content at low Ca2+ concentrations in mice injected with LEMS IgG suggest the functional loss of 40% of Ca2+ channels. Electron microscopic freeze fracture studies in such animals show, as in the human disease, a significant reduction in the number of active zone particles which are believed to represent Ca2+ channels. Thus it seems likely that the disorder of acetylcholine release is due to an IgG antibody directed to nerve terminal determinants that include the Ca2+ channels or structures closely related to them. In cancer-associated LEMS, the autoantibody response may initially be made to similar determinants on the tumour cell membrane, cross-reactivity of the antibody with nerve terminal determinants leading to the disorder of transmitter release.

Antibodies

Comparison of complement activation by silicone intraocular lenses and polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lenses with polypropylene loops.

Silicone intraocular lenses are undergoing clinical investigation for use in the United States. We compared the ability of silicone intraocular lenses to activate the complement system in human sera with that of polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lenses with polypropylene loops using a radioimmunoassay that measures levels of activated complement fragments. Sera incubated with polymethylmethacrylate lenses with polypropylene loops had higher levels of C3a and C5a, but not C4a, than control sera incubated without intraocular lenses. On the other hand, there were no differences in levels of C3a, C4a, and C5a between sera incubated with silicone lenses and control sera. These results suggest that polymethylmethacrylate lenses with polypropylene loops activate the alternative pathway of complement, while silicone lenses do not.

Complement Activation

Regulation of neutrophil superoxide production in sepsis.

Neutrophil superoxide production has been recognized as an important pathway for microbicidal activity and regulation of the local inflammatory environment. To investigate neutrophil superoxide production in sepsis, we studied 22 patients with intra-abdominal infections, and correlated superoxide production with chemotactic response and granular enzyme content. Our results showed that neutrophils from infected patients had specific loss of chemotactic response to C5a, and were deficient in the granular enzymes, lysozyme, and beta-glucuronidase. Superoxide production in response to opsonized zymosan was intact, but response to the chemoattractant N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine was markedly depressed. This could be reversed in vitro by the addition of cytochalasin B. These results suggest that down regulation of exocytosis of superoxide to nonphagocytic stimuli occurs during sepsis, possibly protecting the host from tissue injury due to oxide radical release. Superoxide response to phagocytic stimulation was intact.

Abdomen

Escherichia coli and human neutrophils. Effect of bacterial supernatant with hemolysin activity upon chemotaxin receptors.

A greater proportion of Escherichia coli strains isolated from clinical extraintestinal infections produce alpha-hemolysin than do strains isolated from normal fecal flora. Proposed mechanisms to explain this observation have stressed the fact that hemolysis liberates hemoglobin, which may provide a nutritional boost for E coli growth. Alternatively, a cytolytic effect of hemolysin upon host neutrophils has been postulated. Our previous studies have suggested a third possibility: Human neutrophils incubated in the supernatant of an alpha-hemolysin-producing E coli strain produced a selective inhibition of chemotaxis toward C5a. Bacteria-free supernatants from 14 clinical strains of E coli were therefore evaluated for an ability to lyse sheep erythrocytes, alter human polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) chemotaxin receptors, and affect release of PMN enzymes. Supernatants possessing hemolytic activity decreased the C5a receptor activity of human PMNs and increased the number of peptide receptors. A stimulation of secondary granule release, as evidenced by the release of PMN lysozyme, may account for the increased expression of peptide receptors. Perturbation of host defenses through a loss of neutrophil migratory function and secondary granule contents may allow for enhanced survival of E coli, which produce alpha-hemolysin.

Bacterial Proteins

Degranulation inhibition. A potential mechanism for control of neutrophil superoxide production in sepsis.

Previous studies with neutrophils from patients with intra-abdominal sepsis have provided convincing evidence of in vivo exposure to C5a. However, in contradistinction to normal cells pretreated with C5a, patient cells showed depressed superoxide response to N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenyl-alanine (FMLP) and enhanced FMLP receptor affinity. To identify possible mechanisms responsible for these findings, we examined the effects of lysosomal alkalinization with the weak base clindamycin on normal neutrophils with and without C5a. Our results showed a specific suppression of FMLP-induced superoxide production and a loss of low-affinity FMLP receptors. These results occurred in the presence of clindamycin levels that did not interfere with other cellular processes. These findings suggest that regulation of neutrophil function during the course of intra-abdominal sepsis may be due to effectors active both at the cell surface (C5a) and within the lysosome. The clinical significance of our findings relates to a possible mechanism for specific pharmacologic suppression of oxide-radical production by neutrophils. Such oxide radicals are believed to be important in the capillary injury accompanying severe sepsis.

Blood Proteins

Trauma serum suppresses superoxide production by normal neutrophils.

The effect of trauma serum on superoxide production by normal neutrophils was studied in 47 serum samples from 18 patients with multiple trauma. Ten patients became septic and eight patients remained nonseptic. Incubation in trauma serum significantly suppressed superoxide production by normal neutrophils compared with incubation in normal serum: 3.6 +/- 1.44 vs 4.04 +/- 1.64 nmole of superoxide produced by 10(6) neutrophils (mean +/- SD). There was no difference in the suppressive effect between septic and nonseptic trauma serum samples. The chemiluminescence response of normal neutrophils was likewise suppressed following incubation in trauma serum compared with incubation in normal serum. The chemiluminescence response correlated with superoxide reduction of cytochrome C. In addition, the chemiluminescence response was significantly less in septic-trauma serum than in nonseptic-trauma serum. Suppressive serum was found to inhibit the neutrophil-membrane depolarization response to latex particles, as measured by flow cytometry. We conclude that trauma serum suppresses superoxide production by normal neutrophils, and that such suppression can be detected reliably using the clinically applicable technique of chemiluminescence. A normal chemiluminescence response excludes serum-mediated suppression of neutrophil superoxide production. In addition, chemiluminescence may be of value in detecting altered resistance to sepsis following injury, while superoxide determinations do not seem to be helpful in this regard. The mechanism of action of the suppressor may involve reversible inhibition of membrane depolarization necessary for the production of bactericidal oxygen species.

Adolescent

Prostaglandin and complement interaction in clinical acute respiratory failure.

This study investigated the interaction of plasma levels of circulating prostaglandins and activated complement in clinical acute respiratory failure (ARDS). Fifty patients at risk for ARDS were followed up for up to ten days. Arterial blood gases and plasma levels of complement components C3a and C5a, thromboxane B2 (TxB), and prostaglandin 6-keto-F1 alpha (PGI) and granulocyte aggregation (GA) were measured daily. Seventeen patients (34%) developed ARDS, with mortality of 41% vs 23% for patients without ARDS. Compared with patients without ARDS, the ARDS group had significantly increased plasma C3a (1,130 +/- 750 vs 636 +/- 368 ng/mL) and granulocyte aggregation (48 +/- 10 vs 17 +/- 4 percentage of the maximum light transmission [% max T]). Plasma C5a, TxB, or PGI did not change significantly with or without ARDS. No measured variable was significantly associated with mortality. Regression analysis revealed significant correlations between GA, TxB, PGI, and arterial oxygenation. Plasma C3a and GA are increased in ARDS, suggesting systemic complement activation. A complex series of interactions between the prostaglandins, complement, and GA appears to be involved in ARDS.

Acute Disease

Leukocyte aggregation response to quantitative plasma levels of C3a and C5a.

Granulocyte aggregation (GA) response has previously been described as a sensitive assay for complement activation in sepsis. Complement component C5a has been implicated as the plasma factor responsible for GA. The quantitative interaction of complement components C3a and C5a with GA, however, is not clearly defined. This study evaluates the relationship of GA responses to plasma levels of C5a and C3a in zymosan-activated plasma (ZAP). The C3a and C5a levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in serial dilutions of ZAP. Granulocyte aggregation responses of normal human leukocytes were determined for each ZAP dilution. The C5a levels in a 1:16 dilution of ZAP were higher than in normal plasma (22 +/- 7 vs 9 +/- 3 ng/mL), as were GA responses (24 +/- 1 vs 11 +/- 2 percentage of maximum light transmission). The C3a levels in a 1:8 dilution of ZAP are elevated above those of normal plasma (656 +/- 167 vs 411 +/- 29 ng/mL). Correlation coefficients were .9809 for C3a vs GA, .9788 for C5a vs G, and .9860 for C3a vs C5a. Complement components C3a and C5a are involved in GA in vitro. Granulocyte aggregometry can detect low levels of activated complement in ZAP but may not be specific for C5a. The relative contribution of C3a and C5a to observed GA is not clear from the data.

Cell Aggregation

Complement-mediated neutrophil activation in sepsis- and trauma-related adult respiratory distress syndrome. Clarification with radioaerosol lung scans.

Complement-mediated neutrophil activation (CMNA) has been proposed as an important pathogenic mechanism causing acute microvascular lung injury in the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). To clarify the relationship between CMNA and evolving lung injury, we studied 26 patients with multiple trauma and sepsis within 24 hours of risk establishment for ARDS. Pulmonary alveolar-capillary permeability (PACP) was quantified as the clearance rate of a particulate radioaerosol. Seventeen patients (65%) had increased PACP (six developed ARDS) while nine (35%) had normal PACP (none developed ARDS; clearance rates of 3.4%/min and 1.5%/min, respectively). These patients, regardless of evidence of early lung injury, had elevated plasma C3adesArg levels and neutrophil chemotactic desensitization to C5a/C5adesArg. Plasma C3adesArg levels correlated weakly, but significantly, with PACP. Thus, CMNA may be a necessary, but not a sufficient, pathogenic mechanism in the evolution of ARDS.

Adult

Terminal complement complexes and anaphylatoxins in septic and ischemic patients.

Terminal complement complex (TCC) and anaphylatoxin formation in 18 patients with sepsis and 20 patients with acute limb ischemia were studied before the start of treatment and seven days later. The septic or ischemic patients had elevated levels of plasma TCC before start of therapy. In successfully treated patients these concentrations were within the normal range one week later. Similarly, the plasma anaphylatoxin level was increased before therapy and returned to the normal range within seven days. Escherichia coli incubated in vitro in fresh human serum at body temperature started formation of TCC in a dose-related manner. As complement will induce cellular lysis via TCC and edema via anaphylatoxins, anemia and impaired respiration in these patients may be influenced by increased concentrations of terminal complement complexes and of C3a and C5a.

Aged

Effects of cardiopulmonary bypass on pulmonary leukostasis and complement activation.

We measured white blood cell counts and complement component (C3a, C4a, and C5a) and prostacyclin levels, and studied lung biopsy specimens, in 16 patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass and compared them with four patients undergoing other pulmonary procedures. Bypass caused no significant elevation in peripheral venous white blood cell counts. Higher counts were present in the right atrium compared with the left atrium. Patients who underwent bypass had elevated complement component and prostacyclin concentrations before operation and these levels increased further during operation. Trapping of polymorphonuclear leukocytes occurred in pulmonary alveolar capillaries and venules after bypass. We conclude that bypass activates complement components primarily of the alternative pathway and leads to increased blood prostacyclin levels. These changes are accompanied by polymorphonuclear leukocyte accumulation in the lungs and may be important in initiation of the adult respiratory distress syndrome in these patients.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha

Elevated C3 anaphylatoxin levels in synovial fluids from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Because cleavage products of the third component of complement augment inflammation and may contribute to arthritis, we used a competitive inhibition radioimmunoassay to measure levels of the low molecular weight cleavage products of the third component of complement, C3a and C3adesArg, in 72 synovial fluid samples. Mean levels of C3a/C3adesArg were more than sevenfold higher in 41 patients who had rheumatoid arthritis than in 15 patients who had degenerative joint disease or 5 patients who had traumatic arthritis. Striking elevations were also present in 2 patients who had acute gouty arthritis. A calculation of the fraction of intraarticular C3 cleaved showed that the patients with rheumatoid arthritis had a mean C3 cleavage of 11.6 +/- 11.0%, which was significantly higher than values of less than 1.5% for patients with degenerative joint disease or traumatic arthritis. In rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis, specific immunoassay identified substantial quantities of the initial C3 cleavage fragments.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Complement activation during systemic lupus erythematosus. C3a and C5a anaphylatoxins circulate during exacerbations of disease.

To determine whether activated complement components appear in the circulation of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), we measured C5a and C3a by radioimmunoassay. Mean C5a concentration in the plasma of acutely ill SLE patients was 46.0 ng/ml, compared with 17.1 ng/ml in normal controls (P less than 0.01). Mean C3a concentration in patients with severe disease was 526 ng/ml, compared with 134 ng/ml in controls (P less than 0.01). In patients with moderately active SLE, the mean C3a concentration, but not the mean C5a concentration, was also elevated. In addition, C3a was elevated in 15 or 21 patients with active SLE, whereas low levels of C3 or C4 were noted in only 7 of these 21 patients. We conclude that the measurement of complement-derived anaphylatoxins may be useful in the management of patients with SLE. In addition, we suggest that these circulating mediators may contribute to the pathogenesis of vascular injury in patients with the disease.

Complement Activation

Increased levels of plasma anaphylatoxins in systemic lupus erythematosus predict flares of the disease and may elicit vascular injury in lupus cerebritis.

We measured levels of complement anaphylatoxin split products, C3a and C5a, in the circulation of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In 23 SLE patients who were followed serially, the mean C3a value was 179 ng/ml during stable disease and 550 ng/ml during a disease flare. In 10 patients, C3a levels predicted disease activity, with the C3a value rising from a mean of 183 ng/ml at a time of stable disease to a mean of 242 ng/ml 1-2 months prior to a clinical exacerbation of disease. The mean C3a level in 5 patients with acute dysfunction of the central nervous system (CNS) was 1,297 ng/ml, which is significantly higher than that observed in patients with active disease but without CNS involvement (P less than 0.01). C5a levels were also significantly elevated in 4 patients with acute CNS disease. Pathologic specimens from 2 patients who died during an acute lupus flare revealed neutrophils occluding the cerebral and intestinal vessels. Fluorescein angiography in a patient with CNS lupus revealed vasoocclusive retinopathy. In 5 of 7 SLE patients who were pregnant, C3a levels were elevated, with a group mean value of 310 ng/ml. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.59) between C3a and C3 levels in pregnant patients with SLE, and this finding is consistent with complement activation as the cause of decreasing C3 levels. We suggest that serial measurements of C3a can predict flares of disease in lupus patients and can demonstrate complement activation during pregnancy in women with SLE. In addition, release of C3a and C5a (mediators of inflammation) into the circulation may elicit vascular injury, particularly in patients with lupus cerebritis.

Anaphylatoxins

The ischaemic leg as a source of complement activation.

Complement activation before and after surgical resection was studied in 40 patients with ischaemic legs (17 with acute and 23 with chronic ischaemia). Plasma anaphylatoxin concentrations (C3a and C5a) and anaphylatoxin inhibitor (AI) activity were studied pre-operatively, and 1 h, 24 h and 1 week postoperatively. Increased plasma anaphylatoxin concentrations were found pre-operatively. Anaphylatoxin levels in plasma had returned to normal one week postoperatively. Patients with acute ischaemia had higher plasma C3a and C5a pre-operatively and during the first 24 h postoperatively than patients with chronic ischaemia. Anaphylatoxins increase vascular permeability, smooth muscle contraction and histamine release from mast cells. Their enhanced activity might be one of the explanations for respiratory, hepatic and renal insufficiency before surgical resection in patients with extensive ischaemia.

Aged

The selective localization of B lymphocytes in the spleen and the role of complement receptors.

The role of complement receptors on the localization of T and B cells in the spleen of mice was studied using short-term homing experiments in cobra venom factor (CoF)-treated animals. The localization ratio of B and T cells in the spleen of CoF-treated mice decreased significantly compared to control recipients. No changes could be found in the relative distribution of resident T and B cells in the spleen or other lymphoid organs of CoF-treated animals and when their spleen or lymph node cells were transferred, the localization pattern was normal. When cells were incubated in serum prior to transfer a disturbed localization ratio in the spleen of untreated recipients was observed. This was due to a blockade of complement receptors as determined by the inability of the incubated cells to form EAC rosettes. No blockade of EAC rosettes and no changes in localization ratios upon transfer could be observed when the cells were incubated in functionally C3-depleted serum. The results suggest a role for the complement-receptor on B cells in the initial localization in the spleen, whereas no influence upon the selective localization in high endothelial venules-bearing organs was found.

Animals