An immunofluorescence study of T and B lymphocytes in ozone-induced pulmonary lesions in the mouse.
Ozone is a photochemical oxidant which reacts with a variety of biological molecules. In experimental animals the toxicity of ozone results from damage to cells in the lung and is associated with the process of reactive repair and an influx of inflammatory cells. In this work we used an indirect immunofluorescence technique to study the effect of ozone on T and B lymphocytes with special reference to their presence in ozone-induced pulmonary lesions. BALB/c mice were exposed to ozone at a concentration of 0.7 ppm for 20 hr per day, 7 days per week, for 4 or 14 days. Control mice were housed in comparable chambers lacking ozone. Frozen sections of lung were prepared and stained for the surface markers Thy-1.2 (T lymphocyte) and sIgM (B lymphocyte). These experiments showed that T lymphocytes infiltrate the lung lesions during ozone inhalation, and increase their presence as ozone exposure continues. They were present in the centroacinar region and tended to occur in clusters within the ozone-induced lesions. In contrast, the infiltration of B lymphocytes was virtually nonexistent with few or no sIgM positive cells present in the lesions after either 4 or 14 days of exposure to ozone. These results show that T lymphocytes occur within the sites of ozone-induced damage and support that this cell type plays a role in the reactive host response to ozone inhalation.
Biomedical Science Department, General Motors Research Laboratories, Warren, Michigan 48090-9055.
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D000818:Animals; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010126:Ozone / Q000633:toxicity*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*
D000954:Antigens, Surface; D010126:Ozone