Direct stimulation of the oxidative activity of isolated equine neutrophils by TNF-alpha and IL-1beta

The capacity of the two cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-1beta to directly stimulate the oxidative activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils remains debated. The purpose of this study was to verify if a direct stimulation of equine neutrophils by TNF-alpha and IL-1beta was possible. Equine neutrophils were isolated from blood by discontinuous density gradient centrifugation. The cell viability after isolation was >98%. The neutrophils were used at 1.25 x 10(6) cells by assay, immediately after isolation. The oxidative activity of neutrophils was measured by luminol- or lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL), and the CL was recorded for 60 min. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta were used at concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 100 ng (0.0017-167 ng ml(-1)) for 1.25 x 10(6) neutrophils, and added to the cells just before the CL measurement. Both cytokines highly stimulated the lucigenin-enhanced CL of equine neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner. TNF-alpha was already active at 0.001 ng and IL-1beta at 0.01 ng. The CL response obtained with TNF-alpha was maximal after 5 min and more pronounced with luminol than with lucigenin. With IL-1beta, the luminol-enhanced CL response of neutrophils was short-lived and inversely proportional to the cytokine concentration: the CL response returned to baseline after 12 min, and became even lower than the baseline value for 10 and 100 ng IL-1beta. As luminol (but not lucigenin) enters the cell, we hypothesized that a rapid intracellular consumption of the luminol molecules occurred, explaining the rapid and intense CL response. The choice of the CL enhancer used in previous CL studies of neutrophils stimulation by cytokines could perhaps explain that controversial results were reported. In conclusion, we demonstrated a direct activation of the oxidative activity of equine neutrophils by TNF-alpha and IL-1beta, which was dose-dependent and obtained with very low doses equivalent to the plasma concentrations measured for both cytokines in equine septic shock. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta can thus aggravate neutrophils oxidative activity during septic shock in horses.