Macrophage-Like Cells as Research Tools in Transfer Experiments

Transfer experiments with macrophages are only possible to a limited extent in mice as this kind of experiment usually requires large numbers of macrophages. The usual source of macrophages is the peritoneal cavity, which yields on the average only 2–20 × 10⁶ macrophages per mouse. Instead, we now use for transfer experiments macrophage-like cells, such as the macrophage tumors WEHI-3, J774A and P388D₁. To prevent replication after transfer, the cells can be treated with mitomycin-C. Our data illustrate that these macrophage-like cells can co-operate with sensitized lymphocytes in the eradication of lymphosarcoma cells in a fashion similar to macrophages (1). The vast amount of available data on properties of these cells (2) will allow to correlate their macrophage properties with in-vivo function.