Quantification of mouse macrophage chemotaxis in vitro: role of C5 for the production of chemotactic activity.

Delineation of the mechanisms of macrophage accumulation at local tissue sites will further our understanding of immunologically mediated host resistance to infectious and neoplastic diseases. Since mice are frequently used for the study of immune function, we developed a method for the quantification of mouse macrophage chemotaxis in vitro. By this method it was found that the fifth component of complement is necessary for the production of chemotactic activity in mouse serum by inflammatory agents such as endotoxin or aggregated gamma globulin. The majority of macrophage chemotactic activity produced by these agents in mouse serum can be attributed to a low-molecular-weight (ca. 15,000) chemotactic factor. The data suggest that this factor is the biologically active cleavage product of the fifth component of complement, C5a.