Arachidonic acid (AA) released from membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is important as a substrate for eicosanoid formation and as a second messenger for superoxide anion (O2-) generation in neutrophils. Different isoforms of PLA2 in neutrophils might mobilize AA for different functions. To test this possibility, we sought to characterize the PLA2s that are activated by the neutr...

Based on the effects of ionomycin upon mitochondrial respiration, ionomycin was shown to be an effective ionophore for Ca2+ in rat liver mitochondria. The ionomycin-induced efflux of Ca2+ across the inner membrane was more sensitive to loading the mitochondria with Ca2+ than was efflux catalyzed by A23187. At saturating concentrations of Ca2+, the turnover number for ionomycin was 3- to 5-fold ...

We investigated endothelium-dependent relaxation in rat aortae, using three models of experimental hypertension: deoxycorticosterone and salt; one-kidney, one clip renovascular hypertension; and coarctation. Isolated aortae were contracted with phenylephrine, and relaxation was subsequently induced with acetylcholine or calcium ionophore A23187. Blood vessels denuded of endothelium did not rela...

Flow cytometry was utilized to measure the influx of calcium into fresh and frozen-thawed equine and bovine spermatozoa that had been treated with either dilauroyl-phosphatidylcholine ( PC-12) or the calcium ionophore A23187 (A23187) to initiate sperm capacitation. Sperm suspensions were stained with the fluorescent calcium indicator, Fluo-3, to measure intracellular calcium concentrations and ...

We designed experiments to characterize the role of superoxide anions in the mediation of endothelium-dependent contractions in isolated canine basilar arteries. Rings with and without endothelium were suspended for isometric tension recording in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution bubbled with 94% O2-6% CO2 (37 degrees C, pH 7.4). Radioimmunoassay was used to determine the levels of cyclic GMP a...

C-Fiber mechanoheat (C-MH) nociceptors from the saphenous nerve were studied, in control rats and in rats that underwent surgical sympathectomy. Intradermal injection, alone, of either norepinephrine (NE) or the calcium ionophore, A23187, did not affect mechanical threshold. The combination of A23187 and NE, however, significantly decreased mechanical threshold. In the presence of the alpha 2-a...

Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and elevation of intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca++]i) result from phosphatidylinositol biphosphate (PIP2) breakdown. We previously demonstrated that PKC activation inhibits arginine vasopressin (AVP)-induced osmotic water flow in rabbit cortical collecting tubule (CCT) perfused in vitro at 37 degrees C. To estimate the potential significance of ...

The addition of the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 to rabbit neutrophils stimulated [14C]arachidonic acid incorporation into phosphatidylinositol and lysosomal enzyme secretion. A significant increase in phosphatidylinositol labelling was observed after a 2 min exposure to 0.1 microM-ionophore A23187. Maximum increases in rate of labelling were obtained with 1 microM-ionophore A23187 within 1 min, decli...

We studied the effects of acetylcholine and calcium ionophore A23187 on human basilar artery rings. Among 11 arteries, both agents produced significant relaxations in five, A23187 but not acetylcholine caused a response in six, and neither agent was effective in four. After rubbing off the endothelium, the relaxations induced by both agents were significantly attenuated. Indomethacin (a cycloox...

The effect of the calcium ionophore A23187 on the release and metabolism of [3H]arachidonic acid was examined in normal polymorphonuclear leukocytes and those obtained from patients with chronic granulomatous disease. The ionophore A23187 which stimulates oxidative metabolism in normal polymorphonuclear leukocytes was ineffective in increasing oxidative metabolism (chemiluminescence) in polymor...