Granulokinetics in normal dogs

¹ Department of Medicine, University of Utah College of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

Dog granulocytes were labeled in vitro with radioactive diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP³²) and then returned to the circulation of the donor. Granulocytes were separated from whole blood by utilizing hexadimethrine bromide as the sedimenting agent and saponin as a lysing agent. The labeled granulocytes disappeared from the circulation in an exponential fashion with a mean (±1 sd) half-time disappearance of 5.6 ± 0.95 hr. The size of the total blood granulocyte (TBGP), circulating granulocyte (CGP), and marginal granulocyte (MGP) pools, and the granulocyte turnover rate (GTR) were measured in 31 normal, unanesthetized dogs. The mean values ± 1 sd, expressed as number of cells x10⁷/kg body wt., were as follows: TBGP, 102 ± 34.8; CGP, 54 ± 20.7; MGP, 48 ± 23.4; and GTR, 305 ± 111.5 cells/kg day. The values observed in anesthetized and in unanesthetized, splenectomized dogs were not significantly different from the above values.

Key Words: DFP³² • granulocyte turnover rate (GTR) • total blood granulocyte pool (TBGP) • epinephrine-mobilization of granulocytes • effect of anesthesia and splenectomy on granulokinetics

Submitted on July 2, 1963