Abstract
We performed a macrophage activating factors (MAF) assay, making use of the property that activated macrophages incorporate 3H-glucosamine, and applied it to clinical examination in the place of a macrophage migration inhibition assay.
As a result of a fundamental experiment in which purified protein derivatives was taken as antigen, the suitable culture time of the macrophage was 3 days, and the optimal concentration of it was 1×106 cells/ml.
Next, a MAF assay was performed under this condition in 10 cases against 12 drugs which showed the positive lymphocyte transformation of drug-induced allergic hepatitis. All cases showed the positive reactions (SI>200%), and the majority of the cases showed high SI values than those by whole blood micro-culture assay. MAF assay is easier than macrophage migration inhibition assay, and useful for the immuno-diagnosis of drug-induced allergic hepatitis.
