L-arginine-dependent production of nitrogen oxides by rat pulmonary macrophages.

Rat alveolar and pleural macrophages incubated with lipopolysaccharide, opsonized zymosan or recombinant interferon-gamma, but not with recombinant tumor necrosis factor-alpha, produced nitrite dose and time dependently. This production depends on the presence and amount of L-arginine in the culture medium. The precursor of the nitrite was demonstrated as being nitric oxide, by bleaching of ferredoxin at 410 nm when added to the culture medium. Addition of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis, and cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, to the medium resulted in a decrease of nitrite production. Glucocorticoids were able to block the induction of nitrite production in alveolar macrophages. These data indicate that pulmonary macrophages are capable of secreting L-arginine-derived nitrogen oxides.