Short exposure time sensitivity of white cells to shear stress.

White cells are a critical functional element circulating in blood. This study sheared fresh whole bovine blood in stainless steel and polymeric capillary tubes of various lengths and diameters. Flow rate was constant, resulting in a range of exposure times and shear stresses. White cell count, cell integrity (trypan blue exclusion), and phagocytic index (latex bead ingestion) were assayed. It was found that cell function declined at lower stresses than cell count. White cell count was maintained at higher stress levels at the short exposure times used here compared with the published results at longer times. This study suggests that function, not count, is the critical parameter when studying shear effects on white cells, and that, like red cells, there may be an exposure time effect and that white cell function is impacted at stresses lower than are required for hemolysis.