The passage of lymphatic leukemia L1210 cells injected into glass bead labyrinth: their flow and retention.

Leukemia L1210 cells and normal lymphocytes were injected into the glass bead packing perfused with a medium containing serum proteins in concentration sufficient to greatly reduce the surface adhesion. The passage of radioactively labeled cells introduced as a concentrated suspension, was studied by the analysis of transit-dilution curves. It was demonstrated that a fraction of cells was retained in the labyrinth; other parameters characterizing the cell flow were similar to those of the medium. The mechanism of the arrest of cells is discussed: it is related to geometrical features of the labyrinth and the hydrodynamic forces influencing the cell surface interactions. Intense washing of the glass bead column results in the release of only a minor fraction of cells which were previously arrested. When the L1210 cells which have passed through the labyrinth without being trapped are reinjected into another glass bead layer, their retention is similar to that observed after the first injection; it appears, therefore, that the L1210 cells are uniform as concerns the properties which are important for surface interactions under flow conditions.