The fluorescence index was calculated by subtracting the MCN of the unstimulated cells from the MCN of the stimulated cells (PMA, zymosan and LPS). For data description, the mean and a 95% confidence limit were used. The Student’s t-test for paired samples and the Wilcoxon’s test were used for analysing the results within selleck chemicals llc each group, and the Mann–Whitney U test was used for comparing the results between the groups. Table 1 shows the details of the patients and control groups together with the PMs characteristics. 0.5–1.5 L of the ascitic fluid samples was used, which yielded an average total cell number of 2.24±0.87×104 cells/mL (Table 1). The fluid samples

from the control group were smaller, between 7 and 20 mL, and yielded a higher average cell number of 16.8±13.2×104 cells/mL (Table 1). The percentages of PMs in the cell mixtures were 85.2% and 91% (p>0.05) and the

percentages of viable cells were 92% and 94% (p=NS) for patients and controls, respectively. When the plates were examined using an inverted microscope following overnight incubation, we observed morphological changes that became more prominent in the plates to which GM-CSF had been added. The absorbance readings from internalised particles were expressed as percentages of arbitrary units (AU) (Section 4.4), and a standard mean value ±95% CL was obtained Ibrutinib concentration for each group. Fig. 1 shows the number of cases in which the absorbance readings fall within the corresponding absorbance range on the horizontal axis, where blue curve line represents patients’ PMs readings and green curve line represents control PMs’. The mean absorbance reading of the patient PMs (n=14) was significantly lower than that of the control PMs (n=12) (31.88±8.0% vs. 77.2±5.64%, p<0.01). The absorbance

in the patients’ PMs increased following particle second opsonisation (brown-red curve line, Fig. 1) (from 28.08±8.0% before to 41.24±13.35% after opsonisation, p<0.05), although the absorbance remained significantly lower than that for unopsonised control PMs (41.24% vs. 77.2%, p<0.05). Absorbance readings of supernatant fluid aspirated from the final plate washings, and representing non-internalised particles, were negligible (0.2–0.5%). A parallel qualitative observation was made when phagocytosis was assessed using direct microscopy examination and manually counting the ingested particles (data not shown). Pre-incubation of the patient PMs (n=10) with GM-CSF had insignificant impact on phagocytosis (30±9.4% before compared to 36±2.8.9% after, p=0.998). CD14 expression was significantly higher in the patient PMs than in the control PMs (180 vs. 118 MCN, p<0.05) ( Fig. 2). After IFN-γ treatment, the expression of CD14 was significantly downregulated in the two groups (from 180 to 80 MCN in the patient PMs (p<0.05), and from 118 to 20 MCN in the control PMs (p<0.05) ( Fig. 2).