FUNCTIONAL IMMATURITY IN NEONATAL POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES OF RHESUS-MONKEYS

Despite major advances in the management and care of critically ill an d low-birthweight human and nonhuman primate infants over the past two decades, infection remains a major source of neonatal morbidity and m ortality. Although the causes of enhanced susceptibility and dissemina tion of neonatal infections are incompletely defined in the literature , substantial evidence from this and other laboratories has implied th at functional abnormalities of neonatal polymorphonuclear leukocytes ( PMNs) may be a major contributor. Increased understanding of the funct ional characteristics of neonatal PMNs should, therefore, provide sign ificant insight into the pathogenesis and possible therapy of infectio ns in neonates. Our laboratory has been actively involved in evaluatin g the functional competence of PMNs in neonatal human and nonhuman pri mates. This report describes a study in which we have confirmed and ch aracterized the functional compromises in neonatal PMNs of rhesus monk eys, including deficiencies in chemotaxis, membrane deformability, pha gocytosis, and killing.