Activation and priming of neutrophil nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase and phospholipase A2 are dissociated by inhibitors of the kinases p42ERK2and p38SAPK and by methyl arachidonyl fluorophosphonate, the dual inhibitor of cytosolic and calcium-independent phospholipase A2

Abstract Arachidonic acid (AA) generated by phospholipase A2(PLA2) is thought to be an essential cofactor for phagocyte nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity. Both enzymes are simultaneously primed by cytokines such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and tumor necrosis factor–α (TNF-α). The possibility that either unprimed or cytokine-primed responses of PLA2 or NADPH oxidase to the chemotactic agents formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) and complement factor 5a (C5a) could be differentially inhibited by inhibitors of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family members p42ERK2 (PD98059) and p38SAPK(SB203580) was investigated. PD98059 inhibited the activation of p42ERK2 by GM-CSF, TNF-α, and FMLP, but it did not inhibit FMLP-stimulated superoxide production in either unprimed or primed neutrophils. There was no significant arachidonate release from unprimed neutrophils stimulated by FMLP, and arachidonate release stimulated by calcium ionophore A23187 was not inhibited by PD98059. In contrast, PD98059 inhibited both TNF-α– and GM-CSF–primed PLA2 responses stimulated by FMLP. On the other hand, SB203580 inhibited FMLP-superoxide responses in unprimed as well as TNF-α– and GM-CSF–primed neutrophils, but failed to inhibit TNF-α– and GM-CSF–primed PLA2 responses stimulated by FMLP, and additionally enhanced A23187-stimulated arachidonate release, showing that priming and activation of PLA2 and NADPH oxidase are differentially dependent on both the p38SAPK and p42ERK2 pathways. Studies using C5a as an agonist gave similar results and confirmed the findings with FMLP. In addition, methyl arachidonyl fluorophosphonate (MAFP), the dual inhibitor of c and iPLA2 enzymes, failed to inhibit superoxide production in primed cells at concentrations that inhibited arachidonate release. These data demonstrate that NADPH oxidase activity can be dissociated from AA generation and indicate a more complex role for arachidonate in neutrophil superoxide production.