Altered expression of neutrophil peripheral benzodiazepine receptor in X-linked chronic granulomatous disease

This study was aimed at determining whether the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBZDR), which is abundantly expressed on mononuclear phagocytes, is involved in host defense mechanisms depending on phagocyte membrane-associated NADPH-oxidase complex. Analysis by reversible and covalent binding of PBZDR expression on human neutrophils shows that it is modulated during NADPH-oxidase activation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Based on a series of 17 patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), results show that PBZDR expression is dramatically impaired in X-linked CGD, an inherited disorder due to a mutation on the gene coding for cytochrome b558 NADPH-oxidase component, whereas it is unaffected in autosomal recessive CGD where cytochrome b558 is normally expressed, suggesting a link between PBZDR and cytochrome b558 expressions. PBZDR can be assigned by covalent binding to an 18-Kd membrane protein. These results suggest that the neutrophil PBZDR, which can accommodate the widely prescribed anxiolytic drug Valium (diazepam), is involved in host defense against pathogens, a function that could be affected by neuroimmune interactions.