Oxidative processes in human promonocytic cells (THP-1) after differentiation into macrophages by incubation with...

Human monocytes differentiated into macrophages by Chlamydia pneumoniae were able to oxidize blood lipoproteins, as discovered by Kalayoglu et al. (1998). Using a model of human promonocytic cells (THP-1), the cells were differentiated into macrophages by preincubation with C. pneumoniae extract, and further stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate. In these conditions, the differentiated cells oxidized a thiol compound and released superoxide anion as demonstrated respectively by gas liquid chromatography and electron spin resonance. The thiol oxidation and superoxide anion release were inhibited by diphenyliodonium, a NADPH oxidase and NOsynthase inhibitor, proving that the respiratory burst and the NOsynthase were involved in the oxidation processes occurring in the differentiated THP-1. The role of H(2)O(2) (derived from superoxide anion) was indicated by the enhancing effect of a peroxidase on the thiol oxidation. The presence of alpha-tocopherol in the surrounding medium strongly diminished the oxidation of the thiol target.