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Three children from two unrelated families had a history of recurrent bacterial infections, and their neutrophils were shown to have deficient phagocytic and respiratory responses and possible deficiencies in chemotaxis or adherence. Their neutrophils were strikingly deficient in the ability to ingest or give a respiratory burst in response to unopsonized bakers' yeast or zymosan (Z). Tests for neutrophil and monocyte CR1 (C3b/iC3b receptor) and CR3 (iC3b receptor) demonstrated rosettes with both EC3b and EC3bi. However, EC3bi were bound only to CR1, and not to CR3, because EC3bi rosettes were inhibited completely by anti-CR1. Neutrophils, monocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells also did not fluorescence stain with monoclonal antibodies specific for the alpha-chain of CR3 (anti-Mac-1, anti-Mol, OKM1, and MN-41). Quantitation of C receptors with 125I monoclonal anti-CR1 and anti-CR3 indicated that neutrophils from each patient expressed normal amounts of CR1 per cell but less than 10% of the normal amount of CR3. Examination of neutrophils by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated that a normal glycoprotein of approximately 165,000 daltons was missing. Immunoblotting of these gels indicated that the missing band was the alpha-chain of CR3. Subsequent analysis of all three patients' cells also demonstrated a deficiency of LFA-1 alpha-chain and the common beta- chain that is shared by the CR3/LFA-1/p150,95 membrane antigen family. The deficiency of LFA-1 probably explained the absent NK cell function, as normal NK cell activity is inhibited by anti-LFA-1 but not by anti- CR3. The reduced phagocytic and respiratory responses to Z were probably due to CR3 deficiency, because treatment of normal neutrophils with anti-CR3, but not anti-FLA-1, inhibits responses to Z by 80% to 90%. Ingestion of Staphylococcus epidermidis by normal neutrophils was shown to be partially inhibited by monoclonal antibodies to the alpha- chain of either CR3 or LFA-1, and monoclonal antibody to the common beta-chain inhibited ingestion by 75%. Thus, both CR3 and LFA-1 may have previously unrecognized functions as phagocyte receptors for bacteria. The absence of this type of nonimmune recognition of bacteria by these children's neutrophils may be one of the reasons for their increased susceptibility to bacterial infections.

We have studied a neutrophil-specific murine monoclonal antibody, PMN7C3 (IgG3), which specifically alters PMN oxidative metabolism stimulated by serum-opsonized zymosan (STZ) or Candida albicans (STC). Polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) exposed to PMN7C3 show a significant depression in O2- release (52.8% +/- 2.5% of control), H2O2 release (44.4% +/- 6.0% of control), and O2 consumption (73.9% +/- 2.6% of control) in response to STZ. O2 release in response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was modestly reduced (78.4% +/- 3.7%) by PMN7C3 treatment, but not to the extent seen with STZ or STC. PMN7C3 did not affect O2 release by PMNs stimulated by zymosan opsonized with IgG or by S. aureus, A 23187, or FMLP. PMN7C3 was not cytotoxic, did not trigger oxidative metabolism when used as a stimulus, did not alter STZ- induced degranulation, and did not interfere with binding or uptake of STZ by PMNs. Exposure of PMNs to PMN7C3 decreased PMN rosette formation with erythrocytes coated with C3b (54% of control) or C3bi (63% of control), but had no affect on rosette formation with IgG-coated erythrocytes. PMN7C3 does not bind to monocytes and had no affect on rosette formation by this cell type. Binding of antibody PMN7C3 to the neutrophil surface inhibits the oxidative response to opsonized STZ or STC, possibly in part by altering the function or expression of C3b and C3bi receptors. Monoclonal antibodies such as PMN7C3 provide highly specific probes that may be used to define the molecular features of the stimulus-coupled response of PMN activation.

The many different recognized functions of C3 are dependent upon the ability of the activated C3 molecule both to bind covalently to protein and carbohydrate surfaces and to provide binding sites for as many as eleven different proteins. The location of the binding sites for six of these different proteins (factors B and H, complement receptors CR(1), CR(2) and CR(3) and conglutinin) was examined in the naturally occurring C3-fragments generated by C3 activation (C3b) and degradation by Factor I (iC3b, C3c, C3d,g) and trypsin (C3d). Evidence was obtained for at least four distinct binding sites in C3 for these six different C3 ligands. One binding site for B was detectable only in C3b, whereas a second binding site for H and CR(1) was detectable in both C3b and iC3b. The affinity of the binding site for H and CR(1) was charge dependent and considerably reduced in iC3b as compared to C3b. H binding to iC3b-coated sheep erythrocytes (EC3bi) was measurable only in low ionic strength buffer (4 mS). The finding that C3c-coated microspheres bound to CR(1), indicated that this second binding site was still intact in the C3c fragment. However, H binding to C3c was not examined. A third binding site in C3 for CR(2) was exposed in the d region by factor I cleavage of C3b into iC3b, and the activity of this site was unaffected by the further I cleavage of iC3b into C3d,g. Removal of the 8,000-dalton C3g fragment from C3d,g with trypsin forming C3d, resulted in reduced CR2 activity. However, because saturating amounts of monoclonal anti-C3g did not block the CR(2)-binding activity of EC3d,g, it appears unlikely that the g region of C3d,g or iC3b forms a part of the CR(2)-binding site. In addition, detergent-solubilized EC3d (C3d-OR) inhibited the CR(2)-binding activity of EC3d,g. Monocytes and neutrophils, that had been previously thought to lack CR(2) because of their inability to form EC3d rosettes, did bind EC3d,g containing greater than 5 × 10(4) C3d,g molecules per E. The finding that monocyte and neutrophil rosettes with EC3d,g were inhibited by C3d-OR, suggested that these phagocytic cells might indeed express very low numbers of CR(2), and that these CR(2) were detectable with EC3d,g and not with EC3d because C3d,g had a higher affinity for CR2 than did C3d. A fourth C3 binding site for CR(3) and conglutinin (K) was restricted to the iC3b fragment. Because of simultaneous attachment of iC3b to phagocyte CR3 and CR(3), the characteristics of iC3b binding to CR3 could only be examined with phagocytes on which the CR(1) had been blocked with anti-CR(1). Inhibition studies with EDTA and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine demonstrated a requirement for both calcium cations and carbohydrate in the binding of EC3bi to CR3 and to K. However, CR(3) differed from K in that magnesium cations were required in addition to calcium for maximum CR(3) binding activity, and NADG produced less inhibition of CR(3) activity than of K activity.