[The chemotactic characteristics of the leukocytes and fibroblasts in amyloidosis].

Altogether 44 patients with amyloidosis (7 with primary, 24 with secondary and 13 with hereditary associated with periodic disease) and different stages of renal impairment and 32 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) (14 with the latent and 18 with the nephrotic form) were examined for chemotactic properties of peripheral blood leukocytes and skin fibroblasts in Boyden's chambers. Chemotaxis of leukocytes from patients with different clinical forms of amyloidosis was found to be decreased. That decrease manifested itself even at the proteinuric stage of renal impairment. Addition of autologous serum brought about another decrease of the chemotactic response of leukocytes. There was a lowering of chemotaxis of cultivated skin fibroblasts from amyloidosis patients, which remained unchanged on repeated cell passages. Chemotactic activity of cultivated fibroblasts from CGN patients did not differ from that of healthy persons' fibroblasts and embryonal fibroblast strain. Possible causes of the alterations revealed are discussed.