Foam cell response in the lung and lymphatic tissues during long-term high-level treatment with erythromycin
Gray, J.E.; Weaver, R.N.; Stern, K.F.; Phillips, W.A.
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 45(3): 701-711
1978
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-008X PMID: 725925 Document Number: 135353
Collections of foam cells in the lungs and lymphatic tissues were not previously recognized in dogs and rats treated with high oral doses (500-1000 mg/kg) of erythromycin. With extended periods of treatment with either the octadecylsulfamate derivative or the antibiotic base, slow progressive transformation of macrophages became apparent. Foam cells in the lung showed a repetitive pattern of small whorls in vacuoles similar to that previously recognized with other drugs that induce phospholipidosis. The foam cells in the lymphatic tissues of the dog were confined principally to the germinal centers, whereas those in the rat lymph nodes were more diffusely scattered and were scored with cholesterol clefts. The cholesterol content of the mesenteric lymph nodes of treated rats was significantly increased. Residual antibiotic activity was assayed in the lungs and mesenteric lymph nodes of rats 5 days after treatment. The mobilization of macrophages in the lymphatic tissues appeared to be related secondarily to the low-grade formation of antibiotic-induced myeloid bodies in lymphoid cells.