Dialysis membrane interference in human T-lymphocyte proliferation assays.
Dialysis with cellulose acetate membranes is frequently performed in the laboratory in order to remove possible interfering substances from various biological fluids. However, retentates from dialysis, compared to undialysed samples, inhibited the sub-maximal phytohaemagglutinin-induced proliferation of human T-lymphocytes. This inhibition was accentuated when the samples to be dialysed contained normal human serum. Four different membranes all produced similar degrees of inhibition when samples of varied composition were dialysed. It is unlikely that the inhibitory effect on the MNC/M phi-DC proliferations is due to glycerol, heavy metals or sulphuric compounds in the retentate. The most likely explanation of the inhibition is liberation of a substance from the membrane to the retentate during dialysis. Our experiments suggested two solutions. Simply boiling the dialysis tubing--internal as well as external--solved the problem. Another way to circumvent the problem is to use a commercially available dialysis membrane which is completely devoid of this inhibitory effect.
Bligaard
N
N
Department of Medicine, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Remvig
L
L
D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D003956:Dialysis; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D013601:T-Lymphocytes
D008567:Membranes, Artificial; C005062:acetylcellulose; D002482:Cellulose