Size increase induced in Walker ascites cells by chemotactic factors

Upon interaction with the tumor cell chemotactic factor derived from zymosan-activated serum or with the synthetic chemotactic factor, formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (f-met-leu-phe), the number of Walker 256 carcinosarcoma cells in suspension dropped as measured by a Coulter Counter. The drop in the number of cells counted by the Coulter Counter was accompanied by and possibly attributed to a swelling in the mean cell volume of approx. 20%. These effects were blocked by the addition of 2-deoxy-d-glucose, along with the chemotactic factors, to the tumor cells. The doses of the chemotactic factors which induced these responses paralleled closely the doses which have been shown to induce a chemotactic response as measured in the Boyden Chamber assay. These findings indicate that non-leukocytic cells, like leukocytes, are capable of other responses in addition to chemotactic migration in the Boyden chamber assay upon interaction with appropriate chemotactic factors.