Influence of age of the donor sheep on the phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus subspecies anaerobius and S aureus by neutrophils.

The age of the sheep donating neutrophils had a marked influence in vitro on their phagocytic ability with respect to Staphylococcus aureus and S aureus subspecies anaerobius. Neutrophils from lambs five to eight weeks old phagocytosed these organisms significantly less efficiently (P < 0.001) than neutrophils from adults two to four years old.