Deficient Alveolar Macrophage (Am) Function And Neutrophil (Pmn) Movement Into The Neonatal Primate Lung

Deficient defense mechanisms are felt to be important in neonatal pneumonia. Using serial bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline through balloon-tipped catheters we have studied both AM function and the neonatal pulmonary PMN response. In healthy adult monkeys, the alveolar macrophage (AM) is the predominant cell type isolated from a single BAL. Repeat BAL in 24 hours results in a marked increase in PMNs in the BAL fluid. We found AM from BAL in Rhesus neonates (<7 d of age) were deficient in phagocytosis, bacterial killing and chemo-taxis. We also compared the appearance of PMNs recovered from serial BAL in neonatal (Ne), infant (In), and adult (Ad) Rhesus: