Neutrophil migration under agarose in healthy and cytomegalovirus-infected mice

A technique of measuring directed and random migration of mouse neutrophils was developed to study these neutrophil functions in a standardized small animal population into which specific variables could be introduced. Values in healthy animals were highly reproducible; variations in random and directed migration did not exceed 9%. Mouse neutrophils had significant impairment of directed and random migration at 3, 5, and 8 days after infection with cytomegalovirus. Technical reproducibility and the ability to reflect a disease process make this model a promising one for the laboratory study of neutrophil migration.