PMN Migration 1
(Immune surveillance/anti-bacterial/anti-inflammatory effects)
(Immune surveillance/anti-bacterial/anti-inflammatory effects)
This testing involves evaluation of whether a natural product has a differential effect on migration of the polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell. The testing includes assessment of effect on random migration as well as chemotactic migration towards three chemo-attractants: bacterial fmlp, IL-8, and Leukotriene B4.
The PMN cell is a highly active and migratory cell type. The migratory behavior of this cell type is divided into at least two types:
- random migration and
- directed migration.
We have established a migration test where both types of migration are tested in parallel. Furthermore, the directed migration is tested towards three distinctly different chemotactic compounds:
- bacterial peptide f-Met-Leu-Phe;
- the inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-8 (IL-8); and
- Leukotriene B4 (LTB4).
The testing of migration towards several inflammatory chemo-attractants may help identify selective responses in this in vitro system, which to some extent mimics in vivo models of inflammation, such as rat paw edema. The assay allows a distinction between antibacterial immune defense mechanisms versus response to inflammation.