γ-Globulin-induced modulation with necrotic-like morphology of peripheral blood neutrophils

To determine the effect of intravenous immunoglobulin-administration on neutrophil function, we obtained neutrophils from patients with an acute phase of Kawasaki disease. In vitro IgG-induced modulation of neutrophils into Annexin-V-positive and propidium iodide-negative cells was observed in 20 of 28 patients in the presence of more than 300 μg/ml IgG and showed necrosis-like changes in morphologic features. However, we could not find any patients showing promotion of the sub-G1 cell fraction on DNA content analysis. The modulatory effect of in vitro IgG was not observed in neutrophils from healthy volunteers and was significantly correlated with the antifebrile effect of in vivo IgG.