Oxygen radical production and trapping in subjects with previous Yersinia infection.

Previous studies indicate that oxygen radical production by 1-min activation of N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-induced chemiluminescence (CL) by whole blood is increased in subjects with previous Yersinia arthritis (YA). This finding is confirmed in the present study and extended further by demonstrating that subjects with previous YA show increased oxygen radical generation and enhanced release of myeloperoxidase from neutrophils and increased CL activity by serum, all factors that can contribute to an increase in the initial activation of CL. Initial activation was not increased in subjects who had had Yersinia enteritis without arthritis; however, intracellular oxygen radical production by purified neutrophils was significantly increased, suggesting that the cells had been primed in vivo. The water-soluble antioxidants of plasma samples tested by a peroxyl radical-trapping assay were much the same in subjects with previous YA, in subjects with previous Yersinia enteritis without arthritis, and in healthy subjects. The results suggest that aberrations in neutrophil oxygen radical production play a role in the pathogenesis of YA.