Cell Death and Development of Fibrotic Alterations in Lung Granuloma of BALB/c Mice during Chronic BCG-Induced Granulomatosis.

Light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and morphometric examinations established that cell death in lung granulomas of BCG-infected mice resulted mainly from activation of receptor-mediated apoptosis, which did not prevent the persistence of the causative agent in macrophages of the granulomas and promoted the formation of pronounced fibrosis in granulomas and pulmonary interstitium.