Early increase in lymphocyte cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity upon mitogenic activation of human...

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells was significantly increased following a short (30 min) incubation with the mitogenic lectin Concanavalin A. Con A stimulated phosphodiesterase activity to the same extent whatever the subcellular compartment (homogenate, cytosol or pellet). Further separation of the Con A-activated mononuclear cells into lymphocyte-enriched and monocyte-enriched populations showed that the Con A-induced increase of phosphodiesterase activity exclusively affected the lymphocyte-enriched population. In lymphocytes, cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase activity was more importantly enhanced by Con A (+275%) than cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity (+75%). The increase of both activities occurred as early as from 10 min of Con A incubation and proved to be maximal with Con A doses of 2.5 and 5 micrograms per 10(6) cells, lower and higher doses being less effective. Inhibition experiments with reference inhibitors suggested that, among the high affinity phosphodiesterase isoforms, the cyclic GMP-inhibited enzyme might be more selectively enhanced by Con A than the cyclic AMP-specific, Rolipram-sensitive one. The non-mitogenic lectin Helix pomatia hemagglutinin, was not able to enhance cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity of human mononuclear cells whereas anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody, although being less effective than Con A, exhibited a significant stimulatory effect. Putting together these results suggest that the early increase in phosphodiesterase activity might be a normal step involved in the mitogenic activation of human lymphocyte.