[General regularities of the macrophage reaction in the administration of various antigens and the phagocytosis of microorganisms].

A study of ingestion and elimination of cells of peritoneal exudate (CPE) of mouse labeled antigens of various physico-chemical nature with a simultaneous analysis of their influence on the function of the enzymatic systems of macrophages showed that both the corpuscular (sheep erythrocytes, typhoid vaccine) and the soluble (albumin, endotoxin of S. typhi, tetanus and staphylococcus toxoid) antigens caused a unitypical reaction of the cells of monocytic phagocytic system. Thirty minutes after the administration the principal mass of labeled antigens (albumin, typhoid vaccine, sheep erythrocytes) was phagocytized by macrophages and was revealed chiefly in their phagolysosomal fraction. The greater part of radioactive material was eliminated in the course of the first 24 hours; however, some of it could be found in the macrophages for a long time. During the process of phagocytosis the activity of lysosomal (catepsin, acid phosphatase, desoxyribonuclease, beta-glucoronidase) enzymes in the macrophages decreased and the activity of redox (succinic dehydrogenase, NAD-N2-diaphorase) enzymes became intensified. A fall of catepsin activity in the CPE of mice 30 minutes after the intraperitoneal administration of the antigens was accompanied by its activation in the cells of the spleen.