TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of tobacco smoke on respiratory epithelial clearance of DTPA and on lung histology in rats JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 839 LP - 844 DO - 10.1183/09031936.93.04070839 VL - 4 IS - 7 AU - M Mordelet-Dambrine AU - G Leguern-Stanislas AU - TC Chinet AU - L Barritault AU - J Chretien AU - GJ Huchon Y1 - 1991/07/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/4/7/839.abstract N2 - The respiratory epithelial clearance of 99mTc-(DTPA) diethylenetriamine penta-acetate (RC-DTPA) was measured in rats before and after sham or cigarette smoke exposures. RC-DTPA was increased by cigarette smoke exposure (p less than 0.001); the amount and duration of the exposure had no significant effect. In smoker animals, the number of bronchoalveolar macrophages was decreased after one or five smoke exposures a day for one day (p less than 0.001) and the number of bronchoalveolar neutrophils was increased after five exposures a day for ten days (p less than 0.001). No abnormality was found in the lung parenchyma on light microscopy. We conclude that in rats RC-DTPA is increased by exposure to tobacco smoke, whatever the amount and duration of exposure; however, no gross parenchymal lung abnormality explains the increase in RC-DTPA. ER -