Abstract
Cigarette smoking greatly enhances the risk of lung cancers of all types in persons occupationally exposed to asbestos (1). Pulmonary macrophage recruitment and subsequent phagocytosis of asbestos fibers has been shown to occur within hours of asbestos exposure in guinea pigs (2) and is the predominant and chronic phagocytic response after about 1-2 days post exposure. In an initial qualitative examination of lung tissues from smoke and asbestos exposed guinea pigs (3), a number of macrophages were observed which had engulfed large numbers of asbestos fibers. A morphometric analysis was performed to examine the effect of cigarette smoke exposure on the phagocytosis of asbestos by guinea pig pulmonary macrophages in vivo, and specifically, to determine if phagocytosis was increased in animals exposed to both smoke and asbestos.We used three treatment groups of male, Hartley guinea pigs. Each group (n=4) received the same level of asbestos exposure (15mg Amosite 3 times, 1 dose/week) and varied levels of smoking exposure.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
