Comparative adherence of granulocytes to endothelial monolayers and nylon fiber

Adherence of granulocytes to tissue culture monolayers of endothelium averaged 26.2 +/- 1.3% SEM, which was similar to their adherence on 50-mg nylon fiber columns (27.7 +/- 3.6%). In contrast, adherence to epithelial cells, fibroblasts, kidney cells, and plastic Petri dishes without monolayers was only 12.4, 9.9, 11.1, and 4.3%, respectively. Cyclic nucleotides and adherence-modifying plasma factors induced changes of adherence to endothelium similar to those in nylon fiber columns. Adherence of granulocytes in whole blood was the same as for purified granulocytes in Hank's balanced salt solution. Exposure of endothelial monolayers to 0.18% trypsin for 10 min reduced subsequent granulocyte adherence to 25.2% of control values. Incubation of trypsin-treated monolayers with nutrient medium for 4 h did not improve adherence, but values returned to normal or above by 24 h, with or without serum proteins present in the nutrient medium. The similarity of granulocyte adherence to nylon fiber and to endothelial monolayers in vitro suggests that results with the nylon fiber assay reflect in vivo granulocyte-endothelium interaction. Furthermore, the endothelial monolayer offers a new model for studying this cell-cell relationship in vitro.