[Chemiluminescence of human lymphocytes in reactions with Staphylococcus aureus peptidoglycan]

The capacity of S. aureus peptidoglycan (PG) for inducing the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of human lymphocytes has been studied. Lymphocytes taken from adult donors have been found to give dose-dependent reaction to S. aureus PG, while lymphocytes from newborn infants have been inert under the same conditions. Essential differences in the kinetics of response to PG (the maximum intensity of chemiluminescence occurs in 25-30 minutes) and to phytohemagglutinin (the maximum intensity is reached in 1 minute) were observed. These results are considered as the manifestation of specific sensitization to bacterial peptidoglycans, which may be rapidly detected by reactive chemiluminescence.