Pulmonary interstitial macrophages (IM) were isolated from rat lungs by an Fc gamma receptor-based affinity technique coupled with multiparameter flow cytometry. Single cell suspensions obtained by collagenase digestion of extensively perfused and lavaged lungs were applied to carpets of opsonized sheep red blood cells (SRBC-IgG) bound to plastic tissue culture flasks. At 0-4 degrees C, optimal binding of lung cells occurred within 60 min at plating densities of 1-2 X 10(6) lung cells/cm2 when the SRBC substrate was opsonized with 10 micrograms/ml anti-SRBC IgG. Nonadherent cells were removed by gently rinsing the plates and adherent cells were recovered by lysing the SRBC-IgG substrata. By light microscopy, the mixture of adherent cells was comprised of mononuclear cells (approximately 54%), many of which appeared to be macrophages, lymphocytes (approximately 20%), polymorphonuclear leukocytes (approximately 15%), plasma cells (approximately 8%), eosinophils (approximately 2%), and mast cells (approximately 0.5%). The cells which adhered to the SRBC-IgG monolayers were further resolved into subpopulations by multiparameter flow cytometry and sorted according to their electro-optical characteristics. One subpopulation appeared morphologically to be macrophages, and greater than 90% of these cells readily phagocytized SRBC-IgG in vitro. Peroxidase staining of this population was minimal, indicating that these cells were not blood monocytes (BM). Using a method by which alveolar macrophages (AM) were prelabeled with SRBC-IgG in situ, we demonstrated that alveolar macrophages constituted only approximately 5% of the total adherent cell population. We concluded from these observations that the macrophage population harvested in this manner were neither BM nor AM, but, rather, were harvested from the lung's interstitial compartment. Flow cytometric analyses indicated that the IM exhibited electro-optical characteristics intermediate between those of BM and AM, which is consistent with the concept of the lung's interstitium as a maturation compartment for the BM prior to migration into the alveolar compartment. However, the IM more closely resembled the BM than the AM, indicating that if the IM is in fact a precursor to the AM population, substantial maturation or differentiation must occur subsequent to its migration into the alveolar compartment. This isolation technique will be useful for harvesting highly purified IM for in vitro investigations.