Humoral inhibition of neutrophil chemotaxis in Crohn's disease.

In patients with Crohn's disease (CD) we investigated the C3 conversion of zymosan-activated serum (ZAS) and looked for the occurrence of chemotactic factor inactivation (CFI). We also studied the cell-directed inhibitory effect (CDI) of the CD patients' plasma and, in the same group, complement activation and complement-mediated deactivation. The mean value of ZAS C3 conversion in CD was no different from that of healthy controls, but in steroid-treated patients it was lower than in untreated CD. CFI occurred in 1 of the 23 CD sera tested, and CDI was observed in 6 out of the 22 patients tested. EDTA C3 conversion was present in 12 patients, and complement-mediated deactivation was associated with high values of EDTA C3 conversion. Our findings indicate that complement dysfunction and inhibitory factors of neutrophil chemotaxis are present in CD. These findings could explain the defective neutrophil migration into skin windows. Whether they are relevant to the pathogenesis of tissue injury or of infectious complications and are specific for CD, however, remains to be established.