Macrophage migration test of guinea pigs sensitized or tolerized to metals

RESUMO

A simplified macrophage migration test in agarose medium was performed to detect the immuneresponsiveness of peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) and lung lavage cells (LL) obtained from guinea pigs unsensitized, skin or lung sensitized, or those tolerized to metal-containing compounds or to PPD. The migration indexes were considered either to inhibition or to potentiation of the migration, as compared with those of normal naive cells. Inhibition of cell migration occurred in animals sensitized to potassium dicromate, metal-containing fume extract or to PPD, though the responses were strictly related to where the induction procedure had taken place (lung or skin). Conversely, both PEC and LL cells from nickel sensitized animals showed either potentiation (when lung-induced) or inhibition (when skin-induced) of the migration. Animals fully unresponsive to metals revealed no alteration in the macrophage migration. It appears that most of the results obtained from the lung or skin sensitized animals showed compartmentalization of the hypersensitivity while in tolerized animals both types of cells seemed not to be affected.