Isolation of human eosinophil phospholipase D.

Phospholipase D preferentially contained in human eosinophil polymorphonuclear leukocytes as compared to other leukocytes was isolated by sequential asion and cation exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The purified eosinophil enzyme specifically liberated choline from I-alpha-phosphatidyl choline with a pH optimum of 4.5-6.0 and exhibited a pI of 5.8-6.2 on polyacrylamide-gel isoelectric focusing, which are properties shared by phospholipase D from plant sources; however, its apparent mol wt of 60,000 is approximately one-half that of the plant enzymes. Eosinophil and cabbage phospholipase D inactivated a partially purified rat platelet-activating factor (PAF) in a time- and dose-dependent reaction. The cleavage of this PAF activity was attributed to the inherent phospholipase D activity of the eosinophil enzyme since the two activities chromatographed together at each purification step, and there was apparent reciprocal inhibition of choline-generating activity by PAF and of PAF-inactivating activity by phosphatidyl choline. Thus, possible regulatory functions of the eosinophil in immediate hypersensitivity reactions include inactivation of a PAF by phospholipase D as well as degradation of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis by arylsulfatase B.