Enhancement of macrophage spreading and phagocytosis by peroxidative enzymes.

Macrophages stimulated by various substances exhibit altered morphology, metabolism, and enhanced phagocytosis. The present studies were done to show if peroxidative enzymes would affect macrophage spreading and phagocytosis. Resident peritoneal macrophages, collected from C57BI mice were exposed to various concentrations of peroxidases and compared with appropriate controls. Results indicated that 0.01 microM myeloperoxidase (MyPO), 0.09 microM horseradish peroxidase (HRP), 0.16 microM lactoperoxidase (LPO) and 70 microM microperoxidase (MPO) significantly enhanced macrophage spreading. It was also noted that peroxidases were able to stimulate phagocytosis by increasing the number of cells with internalized zymosan at least twofold. Stimulation of these functions suggests a possible role of endogenous peroxidases as natural cell activators.