Much can be learned of the function of the white cell by studying its constituent enzymes. Our present knowledge of white-cell enzymes has been reviewed in papers by Barnes (1940) and Rebuck (1947 Rossiter, 1948, esterases (Rossiter & Wong, 1949) and, more recently, the /3-glucuronidases of rabbit polymorphonuclear leucocytes. A preliminary report of these experiments has already appeared .
METHODSCell preparation8. Polymorphonuclear leucocytes were obtained from the peritoneal cavity of the rabbit by the method of de Haan (1918). A warm sterile solution of 0.9% NaCl (300-500 ml.) was run into the peritoneal cavity and drained off 3-4 hr. later into a beaker containing a few grains of heparin. Alternatively, the solution was left in the animal overnight and a further quantity was run in the following morning and withdrawn immediately. In each instance the resulting opalescent fluid contained 2000-16,000 leucocytes/cu.mm., at least 95 % of which were polymorphonuclear.Alkaline pho8phatase e8timation. Alkaline phosphatase was determined by the method of King & Armstrong (1934) in which the phenol, liberated by the hydrolysis of disodium phenyl phosphate, is estimated by the method of Folin & Ciocalteu (1927). Sufficient magnesium chloride was added to each tube to make the final magnesium concentration 0 001 M. Details of the test have been published by Cram & Rossiter (1949). The results were recorded as the amount of phenol (in mg.) liberated, under the standard conditions of the test, by 100 ml. enzyme in 1 hr.