PHAGOCYTOSIS OF CRYPTOCOCCUS NEOFORMANS IN ANEMIC MICE

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A study has been made concerning the affect of anemia induced by hemorrage on the phagocytosis of Cryptococcus neoformans RE-LCV (large capsule variant) and SCV (small capsule variant) in vitro and in vivo. Mice were made anemic by bleeding from the tail vein at specified intervals for 1 week. For in vitro experiments polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) were isolated from anemic and control animals and mixed separately with the two variants. In vivo work included survival studies as well as isolation of PMN at specified intervals following intraperitoneal challenge of anemic and control animals to assess phagocytic activity. It was found that "anemic" mouse PMN demonstrated an increase in activity of greater than 10 per cent with reference to C neoformans RE-SCV both in vitro and in vivo (P 0.02). Anemic mice injected with the large capsule variant of the RE strain demonstrated a statistically significant prolongation in the onset of the disease when compared with control animals and this effect has been ascribed to increased macrophage activity.