Abstract
The antibacterial and host-damaging properties of locally injected allogeneic polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) were studied in vivo. Peritoneal PMN were obtained from donor mice 24 h after i.m. infection with sublethal (SD) and lethal (LD) dose of Staphylococcus aureus. These donor PMN were mixed with S. aureus and injected i.m. into normal recipient mice. Normal donor PMN and PMN obtained from SL-infected donor mice did not induce the mortality of SL-infected recipient mice but protected LD-infected recipients (5.8% mortality vs. 29.4%). PMN obtained from LD-infected donor mice caused ca. 77% mortality in SD-infected recipients. In survivors, during the first 3 h infection, serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF) concentrations were higher than those in nonsurvivors and then decreased. In contrast, TNF level in nonsurvivors continued to be increased until death. PMN from LD-infected donors had the highest spontaneous chemi-luminescence response (CL), the shortest time of peak and the lowest level of intracellular CL against S. aureus. These donor PMN exhibited increased phagocytosis and decreased killing of S. aureus than that of PMN of SD-infected donor mice. Early stimulation of PMN functions such as bacterial internalization and respiratory burst may result in decrease of their tissue-damaging properties.