PROBABILITY OF GRAVITATIONAL POLARIZATION OF BLOOD CELLS
To study lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence (ChL), samples of whole heparinized blood and iso­lated neutrophils of human blood were put in special cells between an indifferent wet dialysis membrane and a plate of solid material (polymer, metal or other) stimulating activation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes. Production of ChL-registered O2 active forms de­pended on whether the stimulant was above or below cells. Search for possible artifacts made it clear that the trigger of the phenomenon is located inside cell or proximately. Some aspects of stimulation were amiss, i.e. inde­pendence from adhesive properties of the plate, role of erythrocytes, reversibility of the gravity-driven com­ponent in the sequence of processes leading to active oxygen production and others. However, the question as to whether it is cell or surrounding cell media that gets polarized by gravity is still an open question. This phenomenon may have implications for cell functioning in microgravity; under the 1 g conditions, it can facilitate understanding of cell reconstruction brought on by reorientation relative to the gravity vector.