Chemotaxin receptor cycling in fresh and stored granulocytes

The authors reported previously that stored granulocytes (PMN) had decreased receptor affinity (Kd) for and chemotaxis (CTX) to the chemotactic peptide F-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP), but the evidence did not favor a significant role for altered FMLP receptor affinity in causing diminished CTX of stored PMN. Since recruitment and/or recycling of FMLP receptors is required for normal CTX, the hypothesis that stored PMN might have abnormal FMLP receptor cycling was tested. The effect of storage on the proportion of high- and low-affinity FMLP receptors was also investigated. Units of PMN were tested within 4 hours of collection and after 24 and 48 hours of storage at 22 degrees C, unagitated, in 150-ml transfer packs. In comparison to fresh PMN, there was no alteration in the Kd of the high-affinity FMLP receptor of PMN stored for 24 to 48 hours; however, the Kd of the low-affinity receptor increased (fresh PMN = 36 +/- 5 nM; 24 hours = 107 +/- 19; 48 hours = 121 +/- 22; p less than 0.01 for both 24 and 48 h versus fresh PMN). Likewise, while the number of high-affinity receptors increased (fresh PMN = 25,000 +/- 6,000 receptors/PMN; 24 hours = 95,000 +/- 21,000; 48 hours = 161,000 +/- 40,000; p less than 0.01 for both 24 and 48 hours versus fresh PMN). No abnormality was found in the ability of stored PMN to down-regulate FMLP receptors in the presence of ligand or to reexpress FMLP receptors after a 15-minute incubation in the absence of ligand.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)