Lysophosphatidylcholine Abrogates the CR1 Preserving Effect of Surfactant on Quartz-Exposed Human Granulocytes

The effects of pulmonary surfactant on granulocytes were studied by flow cytofluorometry. Cells from hemolyzed blood were first activated by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) which mobilizes complement receptor 1 (CR1) from the intracellular pool to the cell surface. The reduced CR1 expression observed after quartz incubation was abolished by a porcine surfactant preparation containing phospholipids and the hydrophobic surfactant proteins. Phospholipids alone had no preservative capacity. However, addition of the surfactant proteins to the phospholipids did not restore the CR1 values to that of intact surfactant, probably due to changed protein structure during the purification procedure. Heating of surfactant at 37°C up to 72 h reduced the preservative effect of surfactant on CR1 expression. Congruent results of CR1 expression were achieved when 1–10% lysophosphatidylcholine was added to the surfactant preparations. Our results imply that lysophosphatidylcholine formed during storage of surfactant at elevated temperatures influences CR1 expression on granuloyctes.