CORRELATION BETWEEN CELL-SUBSTRATE ADHESION OF 2 NEUTROPHILS AND THEIR SURFACE-PROPERTIES IN AQUEOUS 2-PHASE POLYMER-SOLUTIONS

The surface properties of neutrophils are important in the adhesion process which is a key step in any inflammatory response. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the adhesion of neutrophils as measured by interference reflection microscopy (IRM) correlates with changes in the cell glycocalyx, investigated by contact angle measurements using an aqueous polymer system. Normal neutrophils were isolated from healthy volunteers and then stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The adhesion of neutrophils to glass coverslips coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied. Adhesion was quantified by a grey-level analysis and adhesion area measurements of IRM images taken at different time periods. The cell surface properties were evaluated by estimating the cell surface free energy difference by measuring contact angles using a two-phase system of dextran and poly(ethylene glycol). We found that PMA-treated cells adhered better to the BSA-coated substrate. Increased adhesion to this substrate was accompanied with increased wettability of the PMA-treated cells by the dextran-rich phase of the two-phase polymer system. Therefore, we concluded that the glycocalyx of PMA-stimulated cells became either more compatible with the dextran-rich phase or more incompatible with the PEG-rich phase.