Trypsin- and chymotrypsin-induced chemiluminescence by isolated rat glomeruli

We examined whether the generation of reactive oxygen metabolites (as quantified by measuring luminol-amplified chemiluminescence) by isolated rat glomeruli could be triggered enzymatically. No response was observed with thrombin (1 or 10 U/ml), collagenase (100, 200, or 400 U/ml), or plasmin (0.1 or 1 U/ml). In contrast, chymotrypsin and trypsin caused a dose-dependent (10-200 micrograms/ml) increase in chemiluminescence from glomeruli. The peak response with chymotrypsin (100 micrograms/ml) and trypsin (50 micrograms/ml) was as follows: resting, 16 +/- 2 X 10(3) cpm/mg protein, n = 17; chymotrypsin, 233 +/- 58 X 10(3) cpm/mg protein, n = 17; and trypsin, 221 +/- 38 X 10(3) cpm/mg protein, n = 10. Tubules had only a minor response. Soybean trypsin inhibitor and aprotinin caused marked inhibition, indicating the dependency of the chemiluminescence response on the protease enzyme activity. The chemiluminescence response was by glomeruli rather than by "contaminating" leukocytes, since a similar marked response (n = 6) was observed in glomeruli isolated from cyclophosphamide-treated leukopenic (leukocyte less than 1,000/mm3) rats. Superoxide dismutase, a scavenger of superoxide, and free-radical scavengers benzoate and tryptophan inhibited the glomerular chemiluminescence response to trypsin and chymotrypsin. Neutral proteases from infiltrating leukocytes and/or renal tissue have been shown to be released in glomerular diseases; our results, which show the generation of chemiluminescence in response to neutral proteases, suggest a potential mechanism for the production of reactive oxygen metabolites in glomerular diseases.