Superoxide generation by pig alveolar macrophages

Pig alveolar macrophages generate superoxide anions at a rate of 1.8 nanomoles/1 X 10(6) cells/min. The intracellular value of ATP in resting cells was 4.0 +/- 0.1 X 10(-16) mole/cell; in contrast the value in cells generating superoxide anions was 2.0 +/- 0.6. Superoxide generation was increasingly inhibited by exposing cells to adenosine from 0.1 to 1.0 mM. Unlike human macrophages, pig cell production of superoxide anions was not inhibited by exposure to the adenosine analog, 2-Cl-adenosine.