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. 1966 Feb;10(2):137–148.

Mechanisms of phagocytosis in human polymorphonuclear leucocytes

T D Brogan
PMCID: PMC1423636  PMID: 5326874

Abstract

Human polymorphs have been found to ingest a wide variety of particles without the aid of serum, indicating that the cells possess a serum-independent mechanism of phagocytosis. Polymorphs have also been shown to possess a different and complementary mechanism of phagocytosis which depends on the presence of serum and serum components in the medium.

Ingestion of starch particles by human polymorphs in the absence of serum was unaffected by media at the extremes of physiological pH and at tonicities between 205 and 348 m-osmoles/l and by the presence in media of neutral and acid mucopolysaccharides.

Phagocytosis of starch particles was reversibly inhibited by media of high tonicity and irreversibly inhibited by low concentrations of bacterial lipopolysaccharide, which had a lethal effect on the cells. Serum was unable to promote phagocytosis by polymorphs in media of high tonicity but both untreated serum and inactivated serum promoted phagocytosis in media containing endotoxin, probably by neutralizing the action of the lipopolysaccharide.

Phagocytosis of starch particles by human polymorphs in the absence of serum was inhibited by prior treatment of the cells with iodoacetate, suggesting that serum-independent phagocytosis relies on glycolytic energy. Ingestion of starch particles by polymorphs, treated with iodoacetate, was largely contingent on the presence of serum in the suspending medium, but inactivated serum and individual plasma proteins also had a limited ability to promote phagocytosis. These results suggested that cell glycolysis is not the principal source of energy in the serum-dependent mechanism of phagocytosis.

Using hydrocarbon test particles, it was shown that combinations of either of the heat-labile components of complement (C′1 or C′2) with the C′4 component were active in promoting phagocytosis. Evidence was also presented that the C′3 component had some activity and another serum factor, which was only present in the heat-inactivated sera of some individuals, also had a limited ability to promote phagocytosis.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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