Systemic neutrophil migration and rapid consumption of neutrophils in the spleen

The systemic migration of neutrophils is not fully understood. In this study, we purified neutrophils from rat peripheral blood and labeled them with [(51)Cr] sodium chromate. The labeled cells were injected into the tail veins of rats, and were traced. Neutrophils were rapidly trapped in the liver and the spleen within 6 h. The migration ratios of neutrophils in the lung and the gut were lower compared with those in the liver and the spleen. Interestingly, migrated cells into the spleen were rapidly phagocytosed by monocytes/macrophages. Therefore, accumulation of intact neutrophils in the spleen may be difficult to measure.