Broad-spectrum caspase inhibition paradoxically augments cell death in TNF-α-stimulated neutrophils

It is increasingly clear that there are caspase-dependent and -independent mechanisms for the execution of cell death and that the utilization of these mechanisms is stimulus- and cell type-dependent. Intriguingly, broad-spectrum caspase inhibition enhances death receptor agonist-induced cell death in a few transformed cell lines. Endogenously produced oxidants are causally linked to necroticlike cell death in these instances. We report here that broad-spectrum caspase inhibitors effectively attenuated apoptosis induced in human neutrophils by incubation with agonistic anti-Fas antibody or by coincubation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and cycloheximide ex vivo. In contrast, the same caspase inhibitors could augment cell death upon stimulation by TNF-alpha alone during the 6-hour time course examined. Caspase inhibitor-sensitized, TNF-alpha-stimulated, dying neutrophils exhibit apoptoticlike and necroticlike features. This occurred without apparent alteration in nuclear factor-KB (NF-KB) activation. Nevertheless, intracellular oxidant production was enhanced and sustained in caspase inhibitor-sensitized, TNF-alpha-stimulated neutrophils obtained from healthy subjects. However, despite reduced or absent intracellular oxidant production following TNF-alpha stimulation, cell death was also augmented in neutrophils isolated from patients with chronic granulomatous disease incubated with a caspase inhibitor and TNF-alpha. These results demonstrate that, in human neutrophils, TNF-alpha induces a caspase-independent but protein synthesis-dependent cell death signal. Furthermore, they suggest that TNF-alpha activates a caspase-dependent pathway that negatively regulates reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity. (C) 2003 by The American Society of Hematology.