The origin of the chemiluminescence of phagocytosing granulocytes

Granulocytes engaged in the phagocytosis of opsonized zymosan emit light by a process that is inhibited by superoxide dismutase and catalase. In the present report is is shown that light emission is the result of reactions between certain unspecified constituents of the ingested particles and some or all of the oxidizing agents (H2O2, O2),and possibly the hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen) produced by the activated cells. This conclusion is based on a study of light emission by both activated cells ans artificial O2 generating system containing xanthine oxidase and purine. With these two systems light production required the presence of both zymosan and oxidizing agent, suggesting that the oxidation of particle components is necessary for luminescence to occur. The characteristics of the emission spectrum as well as the finding that granulocytes activated by a nonparticulate agent (F-) fail to liminesce show that light emission by the relaxation of singlet oxygen to the ground state does not contribute in a major way to the chemiluminescence of phagocytosing granulocytes; whether singlet oxygen contributes to chemiluminescence in other ways cannot be decided from the data available. Inasmuch as the oxidation of constituents of ingested particles is an important bacterial killing mechanism in the granulocyte, chemiluminescence may be viewed as a manifestation of the microbicidal activity of the cell.