DSM-RX78, a new phosphodiesterase inhibitor, suppresses superoxide anion production in activated human neutrophils and attenuates hemorrhagic shock-induced lung injury in rats

Abstract

Neutrophils are activated following hemorrhagic shock and the accumulation of neutrophils in the lung is associated with lung injury. This research investigated the effects of a semisynthetic 2-benzoylaminobenzoic acid derivative, methyl 2-(2-fluorobenzamido)benzoate (DSM-RX78), on superoxide anion (O 2 −) production in formyl- l-methionyl- l-leucyl- l-phenylalanine (FMLP)-activated human neutrophils, and on lung injury in Sprague–Dawley rats subjected to trauma-hemorrhage. DSM-RX78 concentration-dependently inhibited O 2 − production, but not elastase release, in FMLP-activated human neutrophils. DSM-RX78 displayed no superoxide-scavenging ability, and it failed to alter the subcellular NADPH oxidase activity. Significantly, DSM-RX78 increased cAMP formation and protein kinase (PK)A activity in FMLP-activated neutrophils, which occurred through the selective inhibition of cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity but not an increase in adenylate cyclase function or cGMP-specific PDE activity. These results show that DSM-RX78 is a new inhibitor of cAMP-specific PDE. Moreover, DSM-RX78 reduced FMLP-induced phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt), but not calcium mobilization. The inhibitory effects of DSM-RX78 on O 2 − production and Akt phosphorylation were reversed by PKA inhibitors, suggesting that DSM-RX78 regulates O 2 − production of human neutrophils by promoting cAMP/PKA-dependent inhibition of Akt activation. On the other hand, administration of DSM-RX78 significantly attenuated the increase in myeloperoxidase activity and edema in the lung, as well as protein concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in rats after trauma-hemorrhagic shock. In summary, these results strongly suggest that DSM-RX78 exerts anti-inflammatory effects, which result from the elevation of cAMP levels and PKA activity through its inhibition of cAMP-specific PDE. Also, our findings show that DSM-RX78 attenuates hemorrhagic shock-induced lung injury in rats.