Bestatin, a new immunomodulator, enhances migration and phagocytosis of human granulocytes in vitro.

Bestatin, which is a chemically well-defined immunomodulator, was tested for its capacity to change certain functions of human granulocytes from healthy donors in vitro. Pretreatment of granulocytes with Bestatin enhanced their spontaneous migration as well as their migration in the presence of chemotactic stimuli. Moreover, Bestatin treatment augmented the ingestion of yeast particles but it did not change the oxidative metabolism of the cells as measured by their capacity to reduce nitroblue tetrazolium.