Transient suppression of the zymosan-induced chemiluminescence produced by bone marrow cells during a subcutaneous nonspecific inflammation in the mouse.

The oxidative metabolism of remote phagocytes has been studied during the course of an acute nonspecific inflammation in the mouse. The bone marrow cells (BMC) from mice bearing a polyacrylamide-microbead-induced granuloma (Biogels P4 and P100) show a transient striking decrease of their chemiluminescence (CL) response to opsonized zymosan. This decreased oxidative response occurs between the third and 72nd hr, with a minimum observed at the 24th hr. Bone marrow granulocytes are assessed to represent the main chemiluminescent BMC compartment, using complement-mediated cytotoxicity assays with a monoclonal antimouse granulocyte antibody. Biogel P4-treated mice, but not Biogel P100-treated ones, show at the 24th hr a significantly decreased percentage of segmented bone marrow granulocytes (-45%, P less than .001). The accurate mechanisms involved in this transient suppression of stimulus-induced CL produced by BMC remain to be elucidated.