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Title: Translocation of particles to the pleural space and tracheobronchial lymph nodes following lung deposition

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5375760

The translocation of particles from the alveolar compartment to the pleural space and tracheobronchial lymph nodes was investigated in rats over a 30 day period following the intrapulmonary instillation of 4 x 10/sup 8/ polystyrene microspheres (1.9 ..mu..m dia.). In initial studies, approx. =10/sup 4/ particles were found in the pleural space compartment on Days 1, 14 and 30 after particle deposition, and most of these were cell-associated. Subsequent pleural space studies indicated, however, that the particles found in this compartment were, at least in part, due to the pleural lavage technique, and, unlike observations reported for some fibers, the translocation of the particles used in our study to the pleural space does not represent an important lung clearance pathway. In regard to particle clearance to the tracheobronchial lymph nodes, the accumulation of particles, most of which were extracellular, kinetically was biphasic with the most rapid phase occurring within the first 24 hours. Over the Day 1-30 period, the numbers of particles in the lymph nodes increased linearly to approx. =1.2 x 10/sup 6/ microspheres. The percentages of the nodal particles that were associated with nodal mononuclear phagocytes (NMP) over the course of the study were inversely proportional to nodal particulate burdens, even though the percentage of cells with engulfed particles increased; the percentage of NMP asymptotically approached a maximum value over the range of nodal burden of 6-12 x 10/sup 5/ particles. The distributions of the microspheres in the NMP were essentially identical on Days 1, 14, and 30. Major differences in the distributions of particles in lavage alveolar macrophages and NMP were not consistent with the notion that the latter represented translocated AM. 20 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
5375760
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-85-2553; CONF-8509138-1; ON: DE85015695
Resource Relation:
Conference: 6. international symposium on inhaled particles, Cambridge, MA, USA, 1 Sep 1985
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English