Impairment of polymorphonuclear leucocyte function in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and with lymphadenopathy syndrome

Granulocyte functions were studied in 20 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), 20 subjects with lymphadenopathy syndrome (LAS) and 15 symptom-free drug addicts (SFDA). Polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMNL) phagocytosis and killing of C. albicans appeared normal in homosexual men with AIDS, while drug addicts with AIDS or LAS and SFDA showed a significant defect of these functions as compared to healthy controls. Migration of PMNL in response to a chemoattractant was normal in SFDA, but markedly defective both in LAS and in AIDS patients. In the AIDS group no significant differences were evident between homosexual men and drug addicts. We conclude that defective PMNL phagocytosis and killing, unlike defective migration, are somehow related to drug abuse rather than to infection with the causative agent of the immunodeficiency.