This study, in which zymosan-stimulated luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of leukocytes was used to examine the osmotic resistance and functional activity of peripheral blood leukocytes from 23 patients with purulent septic lesions and 11 healthy donors before and after exposure of these cells to a hypotonic medium (0.45% NaC1), showed that this medium stimulated their spontaneous chemiluminescence while reducing their reserve capacities. The effects of the hypotonic medium on cells from the patients were more strongly marked.
Key Words: leukocytes; chemiluminescence; hypotonic solutionIn the past few years increasing significance has been attached to evaluating the resistance of neutrophilic granulocytes in various disease states [1,2,5,7,8]. The objective of the study reported here was to explore how hypotonic medium as a nonspeciflc factor that alters leukocyte activity might influence one of the earliest and most characteristic metabolic changes in phagocytes, namely the levels of their oxygen metabolism and their cytolysis.
MATERIALSAND METHODSPeripheral blood leukocytes from 23 patients with purulent septic lesions and 11 healthy subjects (donors) were examined. As a nonspecific factor eliciting leukolysis and altering the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species, a 0.45% NaC1 solntionwas used [3], in which the percentage of osmotically resistant leukocytes was calculated by the formula:where A is the baseline (pre-exposure) leukocyte count and B is the leukocyte count after a 30-minute exposure to the hypotonic medium. Leukocytes before and after exposure to this medium (at 37~ were counted conductometrically using a blood analyzer.Morphological control of the changes undergone by formed elements under the influence of the hypotonic medium was carried out m whole blood smears and in smears prepared from blood samples incubated in the hypotonic solution.Functional activity of leukocytes was estimated from changes in spontaneous and zymosan-stimulated luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) of intact cells and cells exposed to the hypotonic medium for 30 rain and then transferred to isotonic conditions through the addition of more NaC1 to the medium. The results of these tests were evaluated by recording both absolute changes in spontaneous and stimulated CL and changes in the chemiluminescence index I01, which reflects the reserve capacities of leukocytes [6] and is defined by the formula: 1o1= (CL~-CL)/CL ,, where CL is the maximal spontaneous CL and CL~ is the~maximal stimulated CL, both expressed in counts per minute (cpm).