Modulation of constitutive and delayed apoptosis by brefeldin A in human neutrophils

Neutrophil apoptosis is a constitutive process that can be enhanced or delayed by various stimuli. In this study, the effect of brefeldin A (BFA), which affects the biological process of secretion, on constitutive and delayed apoptosis of neutrophils was investigated. Neutrophil apoptosis was determined after culturing for 20 h in vitro by morphological changes, annexin V staining, and DNA electrophoresis. BFA dose-dependently increased the constitutive apoptotic rate of neutrophils. The delay of apoptosis induced by granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was also blocked by BFA. However, this effect of BFA was less marked when neutrophils were treated with dexamethasone, interleukin-8 (IL-8), or dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP). Moreover, the delay of neutrophil apoptosis induced by rottlerin, a specific inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC)-δ, was significantly abrogated by BFA. Although BFA-induced apoptosis was not blocked by the caspase-3 inhibitor, zDEVD-fmk, myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) expression levels were downregulated by BFA. These results suggest that derangement of vesicular protein transport may be involved in the apoptosis of neutrophils, and that the action of BFA on apoptosis is dependent on changes in the expression of Mcl-1.