A Routine Source of Human Peritoneal Macrophages

The routine availability of nucleated human cells for experimental use is limited in the absence of venipuncture. In this paper we have demonstrated that macrophages may he harvested routinely from the waste dialysis hags of patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. These cells were identified as macrophages by morphology, adherence, phagocytosis, chemotaxis, non‐specific esterase staining and peroxidase staining. Macrophages from patients with end‐stage renal disease produced arachidonate cyclo‐oxygenase products in a pattern similar to that of ascitcs macrophages obtained from patients with normal kidney function. Arachidonate metabolism was shown to be manipulatable. Thus, indomethacin blocked synthesis of cyclooxygenase products, and OKY‐1581, a specific thromboxane synthase inhibitor, increased the release of prostagtandin E 2 and prostacyclin, measured as its stable breakdown product 6‐keto‐prostaglandin F 1 , whereas the thromboxane B 2 synthesis was effectively inhibited.