Stimulation of human neutrophil leukocyte aerobic glucose metabolism by purified chemotactic factors.

The interaction of human neutrophils adherent to plastic petri dishes with the purified chemotactic factors C5a and kallikrein increased their rate of aerobic glycolysis 25-120% and the activity of their hexose monophosphate shunt (HMPS) 100-600%, reaching a plateau after 2 hr at 37 degrees C. The stimulation of either pathway required a chemotactically active stimulus since neither C5 nor prekallikrein or inactivated kallikrein could enhance metabolic activity. Marked suppression of the neutrophil chemotactic response by preincubation with a chemotactic factor to achieve deactivation, 5 x 10(-7) M diisopropyl fluorophosphate, or the neutrophil immobilizing factor (NIF) did not prevent the stimulation of HMPS activity or glycolysis by chemotactic factors. The metabolic inhibitors iodoacetate and 6-aminonicotinamide at concentrations which blocked enhancement of glycolysis or HMPS activity, respectively, partially suppressed the chemotactic response of neutrophils to the chemotactic factors. The capacity of a chemotactic factor to stimulate glucose metabolism of human neutrophils is associated with a maximal chemotactic response, but this stimulation is not alone sufficient for chemotaxis.