COMPARISON OF PHAGOCYTIC AND CHEMILUMINESCENCE RESPONSE OF HUMAN POLYMORPHONUCLEAR NEUTROPHILS

Abstract

The phagocytic activity and the chemiluminescence response of human polymorphonuclear neutrophils were studied with normal human serum used as opsonin for Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus. When serum was heated, chelated with ethyleneglycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA) or adsorbed with zymosan, there was reduction of phagocytic activity for S. aureus and a comparable reduction of chemiluminescence; a 50% decrease in phagocytosis by neutrophils corresponded to a 50% reduction in the chemiluminescence response. In contrast, S. typhimurium was successfully phagocytized in serum treated with MgEGTA (complement-alternate pathway intact; classic pathway blocked), and chemiluminescence was reduced by only 20% under the same conditions. Both neutrophil phagocytic and chemiluminescence responses for S. typhimurium were abolished when serum was heated at 56.degree. C or adsorbed with zymosan. Phagocytosis and chemiluminescence in neutrophils are apparently interrelated, and the chemiluminescence response of neutrophils may be a reliable assay for measuring serum opsonic activity.