The development of cytochrome b-245 in maturing human macrophages

Cytochrome b-245, the putative terminal component of the specialized cidal oxidase system of phagocytes, was measured in human monocytes in culture. There was a dramatic synthesis of the cytochrome, which increased by 27.3 +/- 2.0 pmol/day per 10(7) cells. This represents an increase of about 40%/day in the early stages and an overall 7-fold increase after 16 days. The protein content increased 3-fold over the same period, resulting in a doubling of the specific content of the cytochrome b. The newly synthesized cytochrome b was identified as that specifically located in the microbicidal oxidase electron-transport chain, as titration demonstrated that, at day 16 of maturation, 70% of the total membrane cytochrome b had a very low midpoint potential (-260 to -220 mV), characteristic of that found in this oxidase system. This cytochrome distributed with the plasma membrane on analytical subcellular fractionation, and a close relationship was observed between the maturation-induced increase in the concentration of this molecule and the capacity of the cells to produce superoxide.