cord-factors and Liver-Diseases

We investigated here the kinetics of natural killer (NK) cells and extrathymic T cells, which include intermediate CD3 cells and gamma delta T cells, in the cord factor-induced granulomatous inflammation of the lungs and liver. In Balb/c mice, pulmonary inflammation elevated the proportion of NK cells and that of extrathymic T cells to mononuclear cells in the lungs. C3H/He mice exhibited shorter-term inflammation of the lungs than Balb/c mice and accordingly showed a smaller increase in the proportions of pulmonary NK cells and intermediate CD3 cells. In the liver of Balb/c mice, hepatic NK cells increased as well with the granulomatous changes, while intermediate CD3 cells exhibited a transient decrease before they increased. The present study has demonstrated that granulomatous inflammation is accompanied by the increase of lung-associated NK cells and extrathymic T cells and that there exists a difference between these two mouse strains in the induction of these lymphocyte subsets by cord factor.

Topics: Animals; CD3 Complex; Cord Factors; Flow Cytometry; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct; Granuloma; Killer Cells, Natural; Kinetics; Liver; Liver Diseases; Lung; Lung Diseases; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C3H; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; T-Lymphocytes

The distribution of an aqueous suspension of cord factor (CF) from Mycobacterium bovis BCG in several mouse organs was examined after intravenous injection, and the correlation between evolution of the inflammatory granulomatous reaction and the presence of CF in these organs was determined. CF was preferentially deposited in the lungs and liver, and the kinetics of the pulmonary and hepatic inflammatory reaction, evaluated by determining the indices for these organs, showed a gradual increase on day 2 after injection, reached a peak around the fifth day, and declined thereafter. Histological analysis showed that on day 5 both the lungs and the liver were diffusely damaged by a mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate arranged in a granulomatous manner and consisting predominantly of histiocytes. CF elimination was more marked in the liver than in the lungs: 2 d after injection 76% of the material deposited in the liver had been eliminated. Little or no CF was detected in the liver and lungs by day 16, when the inflammatory reaction was also substantially decreased. A second CF dose administered 8 d after the first exacerbated the inflammatory process in both the lungs and the liver, indicating that the intensity of this process depends on CF concentration in the lesion site.

Topics: Animals; Cord Factors; Glycolipids; Granuloma; Inflammation; Liver Diseases; Lung Diseases; Mice; Mycobacterium bovis