Effects of human colony-stimulating factor on the uptake and destruction of a pathogenic parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi) by human neutrophils

The ability of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-H) to modulate human neutrophil functions was studied by using an in vitro system in which this cell type interacted with intracellular (amastigote [AMA]) forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. The presence of CSF-H during the 30-min period of neutrophil incubation with the AMA markedly enhanced parasite internalization. This effect was evidenced by significant increases in both the percentage of neutrophils incorporating AMA and the average number of AMA per 100 neutrophils with respect to mock-treated neutrophils. Pretreatment of the neutrophils with CSF-H reproduced the enhancement effect, whereas pretreatment of the AMA had no detectable consequence. The minimal neutrophil CSF-H pretreatment period required to significantly increase the number of AMA per 100 neutrophils was 20 min--suggesting that CSF-H induced time-dependent events ultimately leading to the manifestation of the noted effect--but neutrophil treatment with CSF-H for longer periods of time (up to 60 min) caused a much greater enhancement. Consistent with the notion of a regulatory action of CSF-H on neutrophils was the fact that the enhancing effect subsided gradually after removal of the factor and was no longer detectable after 16 hr. When 3H-labeled AMA were used, CSF-H-treated neutrophils released greater amounts of radiolabeled substances than mock-treated cells, indicating a stimulatory effect of CSF-H on the killing capacity of neutrophils. This was confirmed by the fact that untreated neutrophils that had internalized 3H-AMA killed the parasites at a faster rate when subsequently incubated with CSF-H. Catalase, but not superoxide dismutase, mannitol, benzoate, or histidine, inhibited neutrophil killing of the 3H-AMA whether the granulocytes had been exposed to CSF-H or not. This indicated that the cytotoxic mechanism involved the production of hydrogen peroxide in both cases, but possibly at a higher rate in the CSF-H-treated neutrophils. These results point to a regulatory effect of CSF-H on neutrophils that promotes cellular activities that might be relevant to the mechanisms of clearance of T. cruzi in vivo.