Monocyte chemotactic properties in hereditary hemochromatosis

Several observations indicate that the innate metabolic defect in hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) leads to a defective function of the monocyte-macrophage system. The present study was performed to investigate the possibility that a defect in migration of cells of the monocyte-macrophage system can explain the abnormal location of the submucosal macrophages in HH. Monocytes isolated from 14 patients with HH were investigated with regard to chemotactic responsiveness (MCR). Two different methods were used at two different laboratories. Casein and zymosan-activated serum were used as attractants. No difference in MCR was found between the control group and the group of HH patients. The conclusion can therefore be drawn that the abnormal location of the macrophages of the gut wall in HH cannot be explained by an inborn abnormality of the function of receptors responsible for the chemotactic activity of the monocyte-macrophage system. It is, however, still possible that local factors responsible for the macrophage migration (gut hormones?) may have defective activity in HH patients.