The intravascular survival of neutrophils labeled in vivo

Abstract

The survival of blood neutrophils labeled in vivo was studied in the calf. Disappearance of labeled neutrophils from the blood of calves was followed after a period of cross circulation with their chimeric, immunologically tolerant twins, which had been given tritiated thymidine 6.5 days previously. Under these conditions, neutrophils were shown to leave the blood in a random exponential fashion, with half disappearance times of between 6.4 and 7.5 hr. Hydrocortisone given to one calf 48 hr after cross circulation caused a neutrophilic leukocytosis, during which substantial numbers of labeled neutrophils reappeared in the blood.