Pulmonary clearance of Candida albicans: effect of exposure to native and metal-coated fly ash.

The viability of Candida albicans was tested at various intervals in the lungs of rats following single intratracheal inoculation of the yeast cells. Most of the inoculated cells were cleared from lungs within 48 hr after exposure. Clearance was enhanced in lungs exposed to metal-coated fly ash than in those exposed to native fly ash. The validity of these studies was verified in vitro using peritoneal macrophages of mice exposed in vivo to native and metal-coated fly ash. An increase in phagocytic and intracellular killing of macrophages harvested from animals exposed to native or metal-coated fly ash was observed.