Increase in nitric oxide release by activated neutrophils in Parkinson's disease.

GATTO, EMILIA; CARRERAS, MARÍA CECILIA; PARGAMENT, G.; REPETTO, MARISA.; REIDES, CLAUDIA; LLESUY, SUSANA; FERNANDEZ PARDAL, MARÍA; PODEROSO, JUAN JOSÉ

Congreso; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Nitric Oxide.; 1994

We studied nitrogen radical nitric oxide (.NO) release and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by isolated neutrophils after phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulation in 12 newly diagnosed and nine treated Parkinson´s disease (PD) patients and 10 age-matched healthy controls. Neutrophils of both groups of PD patients had an elevated PMA-activated release of .NO [61 and 57%, respectively, higher than that of controls (p < 0.05)]. In contrast, release was only significantly increased by 56% in chronically treated patients. In agreement, the maximum rate of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence, which partly represents NO interactions, was increased only in the treated group. When other blood markers of oxidative stress were compared, only erythrocyte catalase activity was decreased in both PD patient series by 33 and 39%, respectively (p < 0.05), whereas plasma antioxidant capacity and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity levels were decreased only in treated PD patients. This study suggests that neutrophils express a primary alteration of .NO release in PD patients, whereas and oxidative-stress parameters are more probably related to the evolution of PD or to effects of treatment with L-dopa.