HETEROGENEITY OF HUMAN PERITONEAL-MACROPHAGES - CYTOCHEMICAL AND FLOW CYTOMETRIC STUDIES

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 33  (2) , 127-138
Abstract
Human peritoneal macrophages obtained from females undergoing laparoscopic examination were investigated. Morphologic heterogeneity as well as a wide variation in the content of nonspecific esterase, acid phosphatase (AP) and myeloperoxidase (MP) were observed with standard cytochemical stains. This heterogeneity was evident within the same sample as well as between different individuals. Phagocytic activity was also highly variable. In only 3 cases out of 85 samples screened could human peritoneal macrophages be characterized as resident (peroxidase negative, acid phosphatase negative) by the criteria used in rodent systems, thus indicating that female peritoneal macrophages are continuously responding to stimuli/irritation. A newly developed flow cytofluorometric method was used to quantitatively document the macrophage heterogeneity in enzyme expression and phagocytic activity. Population distributions derived from single-cell analysis of various enzyme activities and phagocytic levels further emphasized the spread in expression of these parameters within the individual peritoneal samples as well as between donors. Simultaneous determination of 2 markers such as leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and zymosan ingestion indicated that the association between these features varied markedly between individuals. The use of this multiparameter flow cytometric technique on in vitro differentiating blood monocytes, subjected to different stimuli, may give a better understanding not only of the development of monocytes to macrophages but also of the sources of heterogeneity in normal human resident macrophages.

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