Figure 5.

Angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] induces efferocytosis of apoptotic human neutrophils. In panel (A), human neutrophils (PMNs) were isolated from peripheral venous blood and apoptosis induced by staurosporine (10 µM). Apoptotic PMNs were injected intraperitoneally into mice bearing a 72-h peritonitis elicited by 0.1 mg of zymosan; these mice were injected previously (30 min before apoptotic cells) with Ang-(1-7) (0.1, 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 μg/mice). Mice were killed after 90 min, and exudates were collected for morphologic analysis; in panel (B), an image showing an example of efferocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils by macrophages. In panel (C), human PMNs were treated with Ang-(1-7), staurosporine, or both before injection intraperitoneally into mice bearing a 72-h peritonitis elicited by 0.1 mg of zymosan. Mice were killed after 90 min, and exudates were collected for morphologic analysis. In panels (A,C), human neutrophils were obtained from a pool of three donors, and there were five mice in each group.