Induced Increase in Phospholipase A2 Activity in Bovine Neutrophils

The effects of Pasteurella haemolytica leukotoxin (LKT) on the activity of phospholipase D (PLD) and the regulatory interaction between PLD and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) were investigated in assays using isolated bovine neutrophils labeled with tritiated phospholipid substrates of the two enzymes. Exposure of [3H]lyso-phosphatidylcholine-labeled neutrophils to LKT caused concentration- and time-dependent production of phosphatidic acid (PA), the product of PLD. LKT-induced generation of PA was dependent on extracellular calcium. Both production of PA and metabolism of [3H]-arachidonate ([3H]AA)-labeled phospholipids by PLA2 were inhibited when ethanol was used to promote the alternative PLD-mediated transphosphatidylation reaction, resulting in the production of phosphatidylethanol rather than PA. The role of PA in regulation of PLA2 activity was then confirmed by means of an add-back experiment, whereby addition of PA in the presence of ethanol restored PLA2-mediated release of radioactivity from neutrophil membranes. Considering the involvement of chemotactic phospholipase products in the pathogenesis of pneumonic pasteurellosis, devel-opment and use of anti-inflammatory agents that inhibit LKT-induced activation of PLD and PLA2 may improve therapeutic management of the disease. Pasteurella haemolytica biotype A serotype 1 is the primary bacterial agent of bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis, or shippin