Pulmonary Myeloperoxidase Activity.

Neutrophils are considered one of the first responders of the innate immune response. Their primary activities are to migrate to sites of infection by chemotaxis and trans-migration across the endothelium (Gaines et al., 2005). Once at the site of infection, they phagocytize microbes and kill them. Critical to the neutrophil's ability to kill microbes are the multiple degradative enzymes contained within granules. The activity of these enzymes is non-specific, and therefore, neutrophils also contribute to tissue damage at the site of infection (Gaines and Berliner, 2005). Measurement of neutrophil infiltration into tissues is one way to gauge the severity of infection, inflammation, and tissue damage (Ayala et al., 2002). Myeloperoxidase is found in the primary granules of neutrophils and is an effective measure of neutrophil infiltration into tissues (Gaines and Berliner, 2005).