THE PHAGOCYTOSIS OF YEAST CELLS BY MONOCYTES: EFFECTS OF COLCHICINE, BETA-LUMICOLCHICINE, AND GAMMA-LUMICOLCHICINE

L Athlin, L Domellof, BO Norberg

Abstract


The effect of microtubule antagonist (MA)
colchicine and its two non-MA derivatives
Beta-lumicolchicine and Gamma-lumicolchicine on the
phagocytosis of yeast cells by glass-adherent
monocytes were studied with a fluorescence
quenching technique which allowed a distinction
between the adherence and engulfment phases of
phagocytosis. The engulfment of yeast cells was
depressed by colchicine (p = 0 .031) but not by
the lumicolchicines. The adherence of yeast cells
to the monocytes, on the other hand, was
depressed by Gamma-lumicolchicine (p = 0.028).
The colchicine effect suggests that
cytoplasmic microtubules play a role in the
engulfment process whereas the lumicolchicine
effect suggests a role of nucleoside transport over
the cell membrane in the adherence process of
phagocytosis.


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