Photometric microassay for quantitation of macrophage Fc and C3b receptor function

A photometric microassay has been developed to quantitate macrophage Fc and C3b receptor mediated binding and phagocytosis by measuring the absorbance of macrophage associated erythrocytes at 405 nm on an automated densitometer. The method compares favorably in sensitivity and kinetics to the 51Cr-labeled erythrocyte assay. Saturation and linear dose response kinetics were demonstrable for both total index and phagocytic index of either Fc receptor or C3b receptor. The assay allowed detection of significant differences in Fc receptor function with varying macrophage densities and between Fc receptor competent (C3HeB/FeJ) macrophages and Fc receptor deficient (C3H/HeJ) macrophages. A valid binding index was derived at 37 degrees C by computing the difference between the total and phagocytic indices, which compared favorably with binding studies at 4 degrees C. This new procedure provides a simple, rapid and reproducible microassay for the quantitation of Fc/C3b receptor dependent binding and phagocytosis which offers distinct advantages over the laborious rosette assay and the 51Cr-labeled erythrocyte assay.