To gain further evidence for the role of the Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin in pathogenesis, its in vitro effects on human peripheral leukocyte function were studied. Leukocytes exposed to low doses of alpha-hemolysin responded with a marked chemiluminescence response, indicating activation of oxidative metabolism. This response was time and dose dependent. Pretreatment of leukocytes with dos...

A 5 1/2-year-old girl, with a life-long history of recurrent staphylococcal infections and eczematous dermatitis had a defect in polymorphonuclear leucocyte chemotaxis and phagocytosis in autologous serum, a high serum IgE level, and a disturbed T cell function. Levamisole improved all the immunological abnormalities and there was a dramatic clinical improvement. Discontinuation of therapy with...

The effects of various drugs on chemotaxis of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN's) in vitro and in vivo have been studied. Response of rabbit PMN's in vitro to the chemotactic factor of rabbit serum, consisting of an activated protein-protein complex of the fifth and sixth (and probably seventh) components of complement (C'), is suppressed by hydrocortisone, methyl prednisolone, and chloroquine...

Intracellular free calcium (Ca2+ i) is thought to be an important second messenger for phagocyte functions. The fluorescent indicator Quin2 was used to measure and visualize [Ca2+]i in human neutrophils during chemotaxis toward, and phagocytosis of, opsonized zymosan. In neutrophils migrating toward zymosan, [Ca2+]i was highest in the lamellipodium. Neutrophils ingesting opsonized zymosan had t...

The actin cytoskeleton forms a membrane-associated network whose proper regulation is essential for numerous processes, including cell differentiation, proliferation, adhesion, chemotaxis, endocytosis, exocytosis, and multicellular development. In this report, we show that in Dictyostelium discoideum, paxillin (PaxB) and phospholipase D (PldB) colocalize and coimmunoprecipitate, suggesting that...

The 60th meeting of the Society of General Physiologists took place in Woods Hole, MA on September 6–10, 2006. The theme of the featured symposium was “Chemotaxis, Invasion, and Phagocytosis: From Bacteria to Humans.” The symposium was organized by Sergio Grinstein from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and Joe Falke of University of Colorado, Boulder. As indicated by the title, one unu...

Storage limits for granulocytes have not been defined. The purpose of this study was to determine these limits for neutrophils collected by discontinuous-flow centrifugation and stored at 4 degrees-6 degrees C. The parameters studied were total leukocyte and absolute cell counts, viability measured by dye exclusion, morphology, percentage phagocytic neutrophils, number of Candida organisms inge...

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) are the major leukocytes in the circulation and play an important role in host defense. Intact PMN functions include adhesion, migration, phagocytosis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) release. It has been known for a long time that adenosine can function as a modulator of adult PMN functions. Neonatal plasma has a higher adenosine level than that of adults;...