Phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages after conagenin injection to rats

• Published in: Journal of antibiotics Vol. 54; no. 4; p. 349
• Main Authors: Hamada, M, Yamamoto, S, Moriguchi, S, Kishino, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 2001
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic - administration & dosage; Adjuvants, Immunologic - pharmacology; Animals; Body Weight - drug effects; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Erythrocytes - immunology; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Macrophage-Activating Factors - pharmacology; Macrophages, Alveolar - drug effects; Male; Phagocytosis - drug effects; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Serine - administration & dosage; Serine - analogs & derivatives; Serine - pharmacology; Sheep
• ISSN: 0021-8820
• DOI: 10.7164/antibiotics.54.349

Phagocytic functions of rat alveolar macrophages (AM) following intraperitoneal injection of conagenin (CNG) and of AM sub-populations fractionated by Percoll discontinuous gradient centrifugation were investigated. Phagocytosis of opsonized-sheep red blood cells (SRBC) following in vitro incubation with CNG showed a significant increase in a higher density of AM (fraction IV). In addition, phagocytosis was also increased in lower density ones (fractions I and II) by macrophage-activating factor (MAF) co-cultivation. CNG-injected rats for 5 consecutive days showed a dose-dependent increase in phagocytosis of AM compared to the control rats. Although the distribution of AM sub-population in rats injected CNG was not significantly different compared to the control rats, phagocytosis was significantly increased in AM of a lower density fraction (fraction II). These results suggest that CNG directly increases phagocytosis of AM in a higher density fraction, and indirectly enhances phagocytosis in AM of a lower density fraction via increasing MAF-like material production.