Contribution of phagocytic cells and bacteria to the accumulation of technetium-99m labelled polyclonal human immunoglobulin at sites of inflammation.

The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of phagocytic cells and bacteria to the accumulation of technetium-99m labelled polyclonal human immunoglobulin (HIG) at sites of inflammation. Mice were intraperitoneally injected with Staphylococcus aureus (SA animals), with heat-inactivated newborn calf serum (NBCS, to mimic a non-bacterial inflammation) or with physiological saline (controls); 1 h thereafter they received HIG. At various intervals after the administration of HIG the mice were killed, and the percentages of radioactivity in the peritoneal effluent and attached to the cellular and bacterial fraction thereof were established. Furthermore, the total number of cells and that of bacteria in the fluid were quantitated. The percentage of activity in the effluent in the SA animals was (P < 0.02) higher than those in the NBCS-injected animals and controls from 4 h onwards. In all groups of mice this percentage was highest at 4 h and decreased (P < 0.01) afterwards. The percentage of cell-bound activity and the total number of cells remained fairly constant or increased with time in the SA animals (P < 0.01). The bacteria-bound activity remained rather constant throughout the experiment and ranged between 4% and 6%. In the SA-infected animals the percentage of cell-bound activity was correlated with the total number of cells (macrophages but especially neutrophils) but even more strongly with the number of cell-associated bacteria. In the NBCS-injected animals a correlation was demonstrated between the cell-bound activity and the total number of cells (only neutrophils).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)