Neutrophil localization in acute and chronic experimental abscesses.
Abdominal abscesses are associated with a high mortality, and usually require surgical drainage for cure. A potential mechanism explaining the inability of the host to clear this infection may be in part a result of the inability of the neutrophil to localize at the site of an established infection. To study this question, either acute (4 hours old) or chronic (2 weeks old) abscesses caused by Staphylococcus aureus were created in perforated capsules implanted in the peritoneal cavity of rabbits. Homologous neutrophils were obtained from donor rabbits 4 hours after peritoneal glycogen stimulation and labeled with indium 111 oxine. Only 0.71% of injected 111In-labeled neutrophils localized in the chronic abscesses, compared with 1.77% in acute abscesses (P less than or equal to 0.01). Animals with chronic infections had a lower intravascular recovery of injected neutrophils (P less than 0.002). Failure of neutrophil localization was not associated with less chemotactic activity within the abscess, as measured by a chemotaxis-under-agarose assay, or caused by a barrier surrounding the abscess as detected by radionuclide imaging. Only 0.07% of injected neutrophils localized into acute abdominal abscesses in animals with a concomitant chronic subcutaneous abscess. These chronically infected animals also demonstrated a low peak intravascular recovery of injected neutrophils when compared with animals with only an acute infection (P less than 0.002). These data reveal that neutrophils localize to abscesses poorly in animals with chronic infections. The mechanism is possibly related to a systemic factor(s) associated with a lower intravascular recovery of injected neutrophils in chronically infected animals.
D000038:Abscess / Q000276:immunology*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte; D002908:Chronic Disease; D007204:Indium; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D011868:Radioisotopes; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology
D011868:Radioisotopes; D007204:Indium