Deficient induction of leukotriene synthesis in human neutrophils by lipoxygenase-deficient platelets

The effect of human platelets with deficient lipoxygenase activities on leukotriene B4 (LTB4) synthesis by neutrophils was studied. When arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites obtained from the incubation of washed normal neutrophils and platelets with N-formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (FMLP), cytochalasin B, and AA were analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, the synthesis of 5-lipoxygenase products, including LTB4, was remarkably stimulated by platelets, with their maximal effect at a ratio of platelets to neutrophils of 15:1. However, the use of lipoxygenase-deficient platelets obtained from four patients with myeloproliferative disorders instead of normal platelets showed the deficient production of 5-lipoxygenase-derived products, whereas platelets with normal lipoxygenase activities obtained from MPD patients stimulated the 5-lipoxygenase pathway similarly to the way in which normal platelets did. The addition of 12-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HPETE), a labile AA metabolite via the platelet lipoxygenase pathway, could activate the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in neutrophils incubated with FMLP, cytochalasin B and AA, but its stable end product, 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, could not. Thus, it is suggested that lipoxygenase-deficient platelets did not sufficiently stimulate LTB4 synthesis during platelet-neutrophil interactions because of defective formation of 12-HPETE. This altered interaction between platelets and neutrophils through the lipoxygenase pathway might result in deficient responses at sites of thrombosis or inflammation in patients with deficient platelet lipoxygenase activities.