FUNCTION OF THE RETICULOENDOTHELIAL SYSTEM

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Abstract
The reticuloendothelial clearance of C particles is reduced by injection of denatured albumin during the course of C clearance. The possibility that the inhibition in C clearance might derive from a competition between the particles for an available serum component(s) is supported by the observations that C pretreated by homologous serum in vitro is not inhibited by denatured albumin injection in vivo and C adsorbed serum when used to coat C fails to prevent denatured albumin inhibition. The factor(s) can be adsorbed from serum by barium sulfate, eluted with citrate, and subsequently adsorbed to C preventing denatured albumin inhibition. This technique allows concentration of the serum factor involved and provides a more sensitive means of search for its presence in blood. It is concluded that while larger or multiple C injections may bring about a saturation of the phagocytic cell, this saturation masks an underlying factor which protects against acute inhibition of C phagocytosis by denatured albumin when subsaturating doses of C are used.