Glycogen synthesis in bovine lymphocytes from efferent prefemoral lymph

Agar accumulates in rat peritoneal macrophages elicited with thioglycollate broth

Thioglycollate broth- and agar-elicited rat peritoneal exudate cells contain copious amounts of agar, a sulphated polysaccharide contained in the eliciting agent; the agar content has been measured chemically by the anthrone method for neutral polysaccharides. Adherence experiments confirm that day-3 thioglycollate-elicited macrophages contain 95% of the measured agar; on day 1, 72% is associated with polymorphonuclear cells. Agar ingestion by macrophages coincides with increases in glycogen synthase activity. We suggest that ingestion of agar may be related to the reported deficiencies in function of thioglycollate-elicited or -treated macrophages.

Glycogen synthesis in resident and thioglycollate-elicited rat peritoneal exudate cells

The values of the A0.5 for glucose-6-P, apparent Km for UDPglucose and -/+glucose-6-P activity ratio are similar for glycogen synthase derived from rat resident and thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages; the specific activity is 7-fold higher for the enzyme from thioglycollate-elicited macrophages. The rate of incorporation of [14C]glucose into macrophage glycogen is 7-fold greater in the elicited population that that in the resident one; the values of the S0.5 for glucose are similar. The in vitro activation of glycogen synthase proceeds at a greater rate and extent for the enzyme from elicited macrophages; thus, phosphatase activity may be reduced in resident macrophages relative to that in thioglycollate-elicited ones.