Defective mononuclear phagocytic function in mice homozygous for the cribriform degeneration autosomic recessive mutation.

Decreased lung clearance of Staphylococcus aureus has been reported in mice homozygous for the cribriform degeneration (cri) autosomal recessive mutation. In the present study, the phagocytic capacities of alveolar and peritoneal macrophages were quantitated by applying kinetics of the first order reaction criteria. The characteristics of the pulmonary and peritoneal mononuclear cell populations from mutant and control mice were indistinguishable. The kinetic assays revealed decreased phagocytosis work in both alveolar and peritoneal macrophages from cri/cri mice. The results lend support to this mutation as a possible model system to study the early stages of lung disease physiopathology in cystic fibrosis.