Download to Citation Manager

Cell Biology International (1994) 18, 177–188 (Printed in Great Britain)

PDF

Citing articles

Neutrophil polarisation in plasma differs to that induced by endogenous chemoattractants with regard to frequency of uropod formation and requirement for divalent cations.

Damien G. Harkin and Leon P. Bignold

Department of Pathology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 5005.

Abstract

Human neutrophils suspended in Hanks' balanced salt solution (37° C, 20 mM Hepes, pH 7.2) produced extensions, elongated and developed a polarised morphology with both a pseudopod and uropod when exposed to C5a (10 nM), leukotriene B4 (10 nM), platelet activating factor (40 nM) or interleukin-8 (12.5 nM). Responses to each mediator were generally enhanced or unaffected by chelators of extracellular Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. Neutrophils suspended in heparinised plasma (90-10% v/v in Hanks' balanced salt solution) produced extensions, elongated and developed a pseudopod, but rarely developed a uropod unless additional Mg²⁺ ions (0.5-5 mM) were added. These findings demonstrate that the polarisation of neutrophils in plasma is significantly different to that induced by endogenous chemoattractants with regard to the frequency of uropod formation and requirement for extracellular divalent cations.