Analysis of Human and Mouse Neutrophil Phagocytosis by Flow Cytometry

Neutrophils are primary phagocytes that recognize their targets through surface chemistry, either through Pattern Recognition Receptor (PPR) interaction with Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs) or through immunoglobulin (Ig) or complement mediated recognition. Opsonization can be important for target recognition, and phagocytosis by neutrophils in whole blood can be greatly enhanced due to the presence of blood serum components and platelets. Powerful and sensitive flow cytometry based methods are presented to measure phagocytosis by human blood neutrophils and mouse peritoneal neutrophils.