Motility, cell shape, and locomotion of neutrophil granulocytes

Activation of the motile apparatus by chemokinetic factors cannot be reliably assessed in cells that are attached to a solid substratum because motility can be totally abolished by excessive adhesion. It is however, necessary to quantify the activation of the motile apparatus in order to analyze and understand chemokinetic responses. It was the purpose of the present work to establish morphological criteria that can be used to quantify motility in nonadherent (floating) neutrophils and to predict the locomotor response under conditions of limited adhesion. The proportion of neutrophils performing crawling-like movements (polarized cells) in suspension correlates very closely with stimulated locomotion at low to optimal concentration of f-Met-Leu-Phe, ie, under conditions of limited adhesion. Reduced locomotion at supraoptimal concentrations of f-Met-Leu-Phe has also morphological correlates. The major feature is the decrease in the proportion of neutrophils performing crawling-like movements and the corresponding appearance of cells that are motile but not polarized in suspension and that do not locomote on the substratum. Concentration-dependent changes in neutrophil length and in the proportion of polarized neutrophils with and without tail were also observed. The locomotor potential of neutrophils under conditions of limited contact with the substratum can be predicted on the basis of their motile behavior, in particular the proportion of cells showing crawling-like movements, in suspension. In combination with measurements of adhesion the procedure should permit a more complete analysis of the regulation of chemokinetic responses.