Modulation of human neutrophil chemotactic responses by cyclic 3',5'-guanosine monophosphate and cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate.

Abstract Cyclic 3′,5′-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and cyclic 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and compounds known to effect the intracellular concentrations of these nucleotides were examined for their ability to effect human neutrophil (PMN) responsiveness to chemotactic stimulation. Incubation of neutrophils with agents recognized to promote increases in intracellular cAMP in a variety of tissues (i.e., epinephrine, norepinephrine, isoproterenol, histamine, cholera toxin, and prostaglandin E 1 and E 2 ) or with cAMP inhibited the leukotactic response to a bacterial chemotactic factor. In contrast, cGMP and compounds which have been shown to promote increases in intracellular cGMP concentration (i.e., acetylcholine, carbamylcholine, phorbol myristate acetate, and prostaglandin F 2α ) markedly enhanced the neutrophil chemotactic response. The inhibitory or stimulatory influences on chemotactic responsiveness promoted by several of the agents could be shown to be blocked by a specific pharmacologic antagonist of the particular compound tested. These data support the hypothesis that cGMP and cAMP can provide opposing regulatory influences on certain cellular functions; in this case, directed motility of leukocytes.