Tannin stimulates arachidonic acid release from bovine tracheal epithelial cells

Condensed tannin, isolated from cotton bracts extract (CBE), increases arachidonic acid (AA) release from rabbit alveolar macrophages and inhibits its subsequent reacylation. We determined whether tannin from CBE had any effect upon AA release in bovine tracheal epithelial cells (BTE). [14C] AA release was measured at timed intervals after addition of various concentrations of tannin to BTE cells grown to confluence in the presence of [14C] AA. Tannin caused a time- and dose-dependent release of AA from airway cells, with a maximum release occurring at 1 min in the presence of 100 micrograms/ml of tannin, and was confirmed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The pattern of release was similar to that observed with bradykinin (2 x 10(-6) M). AA release by tannin was partially inhibited by indomethacin (10(-5) M) but not by 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA; 10(-5) M. Both of these drugs were effective in inhibiting bradykinin-induced AA release. In addition, AA release was not inhibited by cycloheximide. Endotoxin at 100 pg/ml and higher also caused a time-dependent release of AA that was not inhibitable by indomethacin or ETYA. Tannin-induced AA release was inhibited by pretreatment with pertussis toxin but not by neomycin, an inhibitor of phospholipase C (PLC). Neither pertussis toxin nor neomycin had any effect upon endotoxin-induced AA release. In other experiments, neither tannin nor endotoxin had any effect on [14C]AA uptake by BTE. These data demonstrate that tannin at low concentrations and endotoxin at high concentrations increase AA release by BTE cells. The AA release by tannin is partially metabolized by the cyclooxygenase pathway. We hypothesize that tannin-induced AA release is not mediated by PLC but may be mediated by other phospholipases, including PLA2.