Effect of donor and culture age on the function of neutrophils harvested from long-term bone marrow culture.

Neutrophils harvested from the supernatants of long-term bone marrow cultures that were initiated from young and old mice were tested for their functional activity. Superoxide generation was measured, as was the secretion of the enzymes lysozyme, myeloperoxidase, and glucuronidase, both basally and following stimulation by phorbol myristate acetate. The function of the neutrophils harvested from cultures that were initiated from young mice was identical to that of cells derived from young mouse peritoneal cavities at the time of death. A minimal decline in function in culture-derived cells was seen over the 15-18 weeks of study. For each of the above measurements examined, neutrophils obtained from cultures initiated from old mice gave values significantly lower than those in neutrophils recovered from cultures initiated from young mice. For some parameters (superoxide generation, myeloperoxidase), the rate of decline in function was more rapid for neutrophils from old rather than young mouse cultures. For other measurements the rates of decline were equal. The results indicated adequate neutrophil function in long-term bone marrow culture for extended periods of time. They also demonstrated that the age-related diminution in neutrophil function observed in vivo persisted in in vitro culture.