Induction of leukocytic infiltrates in rabbit skin by acetyl glyceryl ether phosphorylcholine

Intracutaneous injection of 5 to 50 pmoles of acetyl glyceryl ether phosphorylcholine (AGEPC) induced neutrophil (PMN) infiltrates in rabbit skin. PMN margination and plugging were present in dermal venules within 15 minutes after AGEPC injection, and extravascular PMN were most abundant after 3 hours. There was a sharp decline in PMN numbers when sites were examined 6 hours after AGEPC injection. PMN emigration appeared to occur predominantly from venules in the deep portion of the cutaneous venous plexus, and PMN accumulation was greatest in the deep dermis. Few if any PMN were present in lyso-glyceryl ether phosphorylcholine and human serum albumin sites at all time points studied. This demonstration that extravascularly introduced AGEPC induces PMN infiltrates in vivo provides evidence that this acetylated alkyl phosphoglyceride may be a significant mediator of acute allergic and inflammatory processes with a broader role than its previously described platelet-activating properties.