The Journal of infectious diseases
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The hypothesis was tested that polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) from patients with gram-negative bacteremia are primed to produce leukotriene B4 (LTB4) or 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE), in response to concentrations of calcium ionophore A23187, which are substimulatory for control PMNL. PMNL from 11 bacteremic patients and 8 healthy subjects (11 samples) produced similar quantities of LTB4, omega-oxidation products of LTB4, and 5-HETE after incubation with 0.3 and 0.5 microM A23187 for 5 min. ⋯ There was no correlation between LTB4 or 5-HETE and plasma levels of endotoxin. In this group of patients, priming of PMNL by gram-negative bacteremia did not lead to enhanced production of LTB4, its omega-oxidation products, or 5-HETE when PMNL were challenged with low concentrations of A23187.