Defective chemotactic response of human alveolar and colostral macrophages

Abstract

This report describes the chemotactic response of human alveolar macrophages (AMφ) and milk macrophages (MMφ) to a panel of chemotactic agents: endotoxin (EAS) and zymosan (ZAS) activated serum, lymphocyte derived chemotactic factor (LDCF) and formylated synthetic peptides. The locomotion studies were compared with the responses of peripheral blood monocytes. Both AMφ and MMφ exhibited an extremely poor chemotactic response to all agents in comparison with the monocytic response. When monocytes were cultured for long periods, a defective response was likewise demonstrated. The chemotactic response was significantly higher in AMφ from smokers. The stimulated locomotion was not increased by the addition of a surfactant lipoprotein to the AMφ suspension. Moreover, monocytes incubated with fat- and cell-free human milk exhibited lower chemotactic responses than normal monocytes and practically in the same range as that obtained with MMφ.