1982 Volume 34 Issue 3 Pages 580-604
In the present study, bactericidal activity in the blood, an important factor in the host defence mechanism against infection, was estimated in cases of diabetes mellitus, blood disorders, cancers, and liver cirrhosis. This activity was also measured in rabbits treated with immunosuppressants, i.e. βmethasone (βM) (2mg/kg/day × 5, i.m. ) and cyclophospham ide (CPM) (50mg/ kg/day × 5, i.m. ).
The results obtained were as follows:
1) In diabetes mellitus, the bacter icidal activity in the whole blood was found to be depressed in 42.8% of the cases, while that in the sera was similar to that in the controls.
2) In aplastic anemia and leukemia, the activity in the whole blood was depress ed in 30%of the patients, while that in their sera was similar to that in the controls.
3) In cancers,36% of the patients showed enhanced bactericidal activity in the blood, while in hepatoma, this activity was depressed.
4) In liver cirrhosis, the pati ents presented remarkable findings: 1) the bactericidal activity of both their whole blood and their sera was significantly depressed; 2) the phagocytic and bactericidal activities of the neutrophils depressed in the patients' sera would recover when replaced by normal sera; and 3) the NBT reduction and βgalactosidase activities of the neutrophils were similar both in the liver cirrhotic patients and in normal individuals, while the muramidase activity was slightly decreased and the complement activity was markedly depressed in these patients. Thus, the low bactericidal activity in the liver cirrhotic patients seems to be attributable to a depletion of the opsonizing activity for the phagocytosis of bacteria, which is exerted by antibody plus complement and not to the neutrophilic function itself
5) CPM administration to rabbits resulted in depressed bactericidal activity in the whole blood, although the monocytic activity was elevated during the neutropenic phase induced by CPM,
6) βM administration caused neutrophilic leukocytosis, while the bactericidal activity of each neutrophilic cell was depressed.
These findings may con tribute to the analysis of host defence-systems and also to the prevention of opportunistic infections.
