Formed blood elements in peritoneal effusion and the macrophage migration inhibition test in healthy guinea pigs and in guinea pigs with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

An attempt was made to correlate the percentages of macrophages, lymphocytes and granulocytes in the peritoneal effusion in healthy guinea pigs and guinea pigs with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), with the macrophage migration inhibition (MMI) test. Varying percentages of the cells had no influence on values of MMI. Similarly, in guinea pigs with EAE, percentages of formed elements in peritoneal effusion were not correlated with intensity of MMI or with histopathologic lesions in the brain and spinal cord. It is suggested that the observed differences are due to individual immunologic responsiveness of animals and, probably, to other hitherto unknown mechanisms.