Differential Phagocytosis of Normal, Trypsinized and Virus-Treated Human and Rabbit Erythrocytes by Macrophages in Tissue Culture

Abstract

Summary Human and rabbit erythrocytes modified by either enzymes or viruses have been shown to be more susceptible to phagocytosis by macrophages from rabbit spleen grown in tissue culture compared to normal red cells. The factors responsible for this differential phagocytosis were opsonic properties of serum and the capacity of macrophages to ingest modified red cells maximally in a certain time. The roles of other factors such as age of macrophages, evaluation of phagocytic index and the per cent of susceptible erythrocytes available were also examined.