Fusion of Peritoneal Histocytes with Formation of Giant Cells

Abstract

IN the course of work on histiocytes which accumulate in the peritoneal cavity following the injection therein of mineral oil, tritium-labelled thymidine was injected at various intervals after the oil. (Tritium-labelled thymidine was obtained from Schwartz Biochemical Co. and was administered intraperitoneally in the amount of 0.5 mc./gm. body-weight in a volume for 50 ml. Tyrode solution warmed to 37° C.) The histiocytes were collected from the rabbits using Tyrode solution and were maintained on cover-slips in Leighton tubes, in a medium consisting of 40 per cent normal rabbit serum in Tyrode solution. Smears examined by autoradiography showed frequent instances of histiocytos containing two or more nuclei. It became apparent that at least some of these binucleate and polynucleate cells did not arise from dividing cells which failed to separate because in many cases only one of the nuclei was labelled (Fig. 1).