Adhesion and locomotion of granulocytes under flow conditions

The aim of this study was to compare the strength of the surface adhesion of migrating human granulocytes and the main parameters of their locomotion under the influence of various external forces. The strength of adhesion of granulocytes moving in a quiescent medium was studied by detaching them gravitationally from the plane surface situated above them. In these conditions the force of adhesion is of the same order of magnitude as the gravitational force operating upon the cells. The locomotion characteristics of granulocytes migrating on a surface below them are similar to those observed during their movement on a surface above. When the granulocytes migrate with the medium flowing past them, they are not detached from the surface even by relatively great shearing forces (10 and 100 times greater in comparison with the gravitational force) and the locomotion parameters are only slightly modified. The results show that granulocytes are able to migrate in a similar manner when they are subjected to various external forces.