Activation of alveolar macrophages following infection with the parasitic nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis.

Alveolar macrophages (AM) of rats infected with 3000 Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infective larvae for 2, 8 or 32 days (D2, D8 or D32 AM) quantitatively surpassed AM from uninfected rats in one or more of IgG- or C3-dependent phagocytosis indices, beta-D-glucuronidase release, or spontaneous release of thymocyte activating factor (interleukin-1, IL-1) and hepatocyte stimulation factor (HSF). These observations suggest that N. brasiliensis …