Pylev, LN; Roe, F; Vorvik, D
The macrophage activity of the lungs was studied in hamsters treated with benz(a)pyrene (50328), carbon-black (1333864) and asbestos (1332214). In 31 hamsters given intratracheal injections of 5 milligrams (mg) of labeled benz(a)pyrene, and in 31 animals given 5mg of labeled benz(a)pyrene plus 1mg asbestos, the number of macrophages increased to 170,333 and 320,000, respectively, on day 1, and constantly decreased thereafter. When benz(a)pyrene was introduced with carbon-black, the macrophage number after 1 day was 135,500, increasing to 272,500 on day 7, and slowly decreasing thereafter. The macrophage count for untreated animals was below 10,000. No significant mucous formation was noted in the treated animals, despite marked inflammatory changes. The radioactivity of a single cell in all three groups was identical after 1 day, but between 7 and 21 days, it was significantly greater in the group given only labeled benz(a)pyrene. During week 2, the radioactivity of pulmonary tissue decreased rapidly in the group given labeled benz(a)pyrene alone, and decreased slowly in groups also given carbon-black or asbestos. The authors conclude that the macrophage reaction is involved in eliminating carcinogens from the lungs, however the amount of deposited carcinogen is not related to the number of macrophages. (Russian).