A phagocytosis-enhancing factor in human plasma.

A phagocytosis-enhancing factor (PEF) with the capacity to stimulate the ingestion of sensitized sheep erythrocytes by human polymorphonuclear and mononuclear leucocytes has been isolated from human plasma by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and filtration on Sephadex G-150 and Sephadex G-100. PEF is a protein of approximately 70,000 molecular weight which is susceptible to inactivation by heating at 60 degrees or by tryptic digestion. PEF promotes phagocytosis of erythrocytes sensitized with intact 7S antibody or bearing the C3b complement fragment, but not of unsensitized erythrocytes or erythrocytes sensitized with 19S antibody. The specificity of PEF interaction with target erythrocytes and the persistence of its stimulatory effect after the target cells are washed suggest that it promotes phagocytosis by an action on the erythrocytes.