Granulocyte adhesion, deformability, and superoxide formation in acute stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Impaired rheological properties of as well as cytotoxic substances produced by granulocytes may contribute to tissue damage in acute ischemic stroke. To assess changes in the properties of circulating granulocytes, we measured their adhesion, deformability, and superoxide generation in the first 3 days after ischemic stroke. METHODS Granulocytes from 18 male patients and 20 age- and risk-matched controls were investigated. Adhesion to murine laminin-, human fibronectin-, and bovine serum albumin-coated surfaces was measured with and without the stimulus phorbol myristate acetate and the antiadhesion antibody IB4. Superoxide anion formation was assessed by the reduction of ferricytochrome C. In a subgroup of 10 patients and 11 controls, granulocyte deformability was determined using the micropipette aspiration technique. RESULTS The patients had significantly greater granulocyte adhesion to laminin (p less than 0.005) and fibronectin (p less than 0.05) but not bovine serum albumin. Cell stimulation enhanced the differences between the groups, whereas the antiadhesion antibody inhibited adhesion in both patients and controls. There were no significant differences in granulocyte deformability. Superoxide production by granulocytes was significantly lower in the patients without the stimulus (p less than 0.05) and with 10 nM phorbol myristate acetate (p less than 0.005). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that circulating granulocytes in ischemic stroke exhibit increased adhesive properties, a feature that represents one of the risk factors for granulocyte entrapment, impairment of microvascular flow, and tissue injury.