INHIBITION OF HUMAN NEUTROPHIL MIGRATION BY AGGREGATED GAMMAGLOBULIN

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 36  (2) , 334-341
Abstract
Heat-aggregated human .gamma.-globulin inhibited the random migration of human neutrophils in serum-containing medium. This inhibition was not due to metabolic exhaustion or deactivation of the cells, since migration in the presence of aggregated .gamma.-globulin and casein as a chemotactic stimulus was not inhibited. The inhibition of migration was not mediated by a negative chemotactic gradient produced as a result of complement [C] activation and could be demonstrated in C-depleted serum. Sera obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis with evidence of circulating immune complexes significantly inhibited neutrophil migration. This phenomenon may be a useful means for the detection of circulating immune complexes. Aggregated .gamma.-globulin or immune complexes can apparently inhibit the chemokinetic effect of serum on neutrophils by a reversible interaction with the neutrophil surface; this inhibition could contribute to the accumulation of neutrophils at sites of immune complex deposition in vivo.