Production of hydrogen peroxide from neutrophils of rats (Abstract)

Abstract

The production-release of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) from peritoneal neutrophils of rats has been investigated. Cells are elicited by intraperitoneal injections of Mycobacterium butyricum in saline 24 h before cell harvest. Among many other possibilities, phorbol myristate acetate, M. butyricum and Agkistrodonpiscivorus venom are the most effective stimulators of H₂O₂ production. The various routine kinetic parameters of these reactions have been studied and some will be presented here. Various non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs have been examined for their effects on H₂O₂ production and, among these, phenylbutazone is the most potent inhibitor. C₂₁ steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (6 alpha-methylprednisolone succinate and Cortisol succinate, especially) are potent inhibitors of H₂O₂ production by stimulated and non-stimulated cells. Arachidonic acid and linolenic acid, among others, are extremely potent inhibitors of H₂O₂ production-release from stimulated neutrophils and these effects do not appear to be related either to the cyclo-oxygenase initiated or the lipoxygenase initiated ‘cascade’. These and other studies, as well as their probable significance, if any, will be discussed.