Centrifugal elutriation studies in mast cells from rats, guinea pigs and man

Elutriation is a cell separation method based on countercurrent centrifugation. For mast cell purification it is superior to density gradient methods since no foreign protein or dense material has to be removed from the purified cells. The elutriation profiles of peritoneal rat mast cells differ considerably if the cells come from non-sensitized or actively sensitized donor animals and/or from different strains. This result is another indication of an altered morphological state of mast cells due to active immunization and is dependent on genetic factors. Cell aggregation proved to be the main obstacle to elutriation purification of guinea pig tissue mast cells. Human mast cells from adenoid tissues, however, could be brought to 70-90% purity, even if the elutriation profiles varied from donor to donor.