Ambient fine and coarse particle suppression of alveolar macrophage functions.

Alveolar macrophages (AM) are part of the innate immunological defense system and are among the first cells to respond to the effects of inhaled particles. Study of macrophage responses to particles is, therefore, relevant to understanding the mechanisms by which inhaled particles can adversely affect health. Size-fractionated ambient particles were collected at traffic-dominated sites in The Netherlands using a mobile high volume slit impactor system. AM were obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage from adult as well as aged rats and were incubated with for 4 h with collected particles at concentrations of 25-1000 pg per cell. Free radical generation by AM was measured with and without stimulation of AM with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). There were dose-dependent decreases in macrophage production of superoxide radicals as measured by the chemiluminescent method. Coarse particles were more toxic than were fine particles. Suppression of free radical production did not seem to be related to the presence of bioavailable iron or to endotoxin associated with the particles. There were no statistically significant differences related to age or strain of the rats tested. We conclude that in vitro tests using AM is a useful and rapid method for delineating differences in toxicity between environmental samples of size fractionated ambient particles.