Electron Microscopic Examination of the Inflammatory Response of Guinea Pig Neutrophils and Macrophages to Legionella Pneumophila

Abstract

We studied the ultrastructural morphology of neutrophils and macrophages from splenic and pulmonary lesions of guinea pigs inoculated with Legionella pneumophila. Both organs exhibited a similar mixture of these two inflammatory cells. We used 10 male Hartley guinea pigs. Four were infected intranasally with 0.5 ml of inoculum containing 5×10 organisms. Four were infected intra-peritoneally with 0.5 ml of inoculum containing 5×10⁶ organisms. The remaining two were inoculated intranasally with 0.5 ml of sterile diluent. All animals were autopsied three days after inoculation, and the pulmonary and splenic tissues were prepared for electron microscopic studies.