Necessity and sufficiency of beta interferon for nitric oxide production in mouse peritoneal macrophages

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide and some cytokines can activate macrophages to secrete nitric oxide. Macrophage-derived nitric oxide is a key cytotoxic factor for microbicidal and tumoricidal processes. We report here that a monoclonal antibody specific for beta interferon inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in thioglycolate-elicited C3HeB/FeJ peritoneal macrophages and macrophage-like cell line RAW 264.7. In addition, exogenous added beta interferon enabled lipopolysaccharide-hyporesponsive thioglycolate-elicited C3H/HeJ peritoneal macrophages to produce nitric oxide in response to lipopolysaccharide. These data support the concept that beta interferon provides an essential signal(s) for lipopolysaccharide-triggered nitric oxide production by mouse macrophages. Heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive bacterium which was unable to initiate nitric oxide production in thioglycolate-elicited C3HeB/FeJ peritoneal macrophages in vitro, promoted nitric oxide formation in the presence of beta interferon, suggesting that beta interferon may be a general cofactor necessary for bacterium-derived stimulus-induced nitric oxide production in these macrophages. However, neither beta interferon nor tumor necrosis factor alpha, alone or in combination, triggered nitric oxide production in thioglycolate-elicited mouse peritoneal macrophages, demonstrating that these macrophage-derived cytokines, while necessary, were not sufficient by themselves for the induction of nitric oxide production in these cells. On the other hand, gamma interferon and tumor necrosis factor alpha acted together to induce nitric oxide production in vitro in the absence of lipopolysaccharide in thioglycolate-elicited mouse peritoneal macrophages, indicating that these two types of interferons provided different signals during the activation of these macrophages.