Some properties of dendritic macrophages from peripheral lymph.

Peripheral lymph was collected from the skin and liver of sheep, and from the intestine of rats. The dendritic macrophages contained in it were isolated by centrifuging the lymph over a layer of 'Nycodenz'. Similar cells were produced by culturing mononuclear cells from venous blood, but the yields were very small. The numbers of dendritic cells in the lymph from the legs of sheep increased five-fold after xylene had been applied to the skin. Dendritic macrophages displayed abundant class II histocompatibility antigens on their surfaces, as well as immunoglobulins. Although the latter were probably acquired passively, they remained present for several days on cells cultured in vitro. When in vitro, dendritic cells could be shown to phagocytose marker particles, such as latex beads, but their performance was unimpressive compared to macrophages from the peritoneal cavities of rats. In contrast, their ability to phagocytose rapidly T4 phage or influenza viruses unequivocal and striking.