Effects of Chitin/Chitosan and Their Oligomers/Monomers on Migrations of Macrophages

The effects of chitin/chitosan and their oligomers/monomers on the migrations of mouse peritoneal macrophage (PEM) and the rat macrophage cell line (rMp) were evaluated in vitro. In direct migratory assay using the blind well chamber method, the migratory activity of PEM was enhanced significantly by chitin and chitosan oligomers (NACOS and COS, respectively), but reduced by chitin, chitosan, and the chitosan monomer (GlcN). The migratory activity of rMp was increased significantly by chitin, chitosan, and the polymers, NACOS and GlcN.