Morphological and biochemical alterations of the lung after application of chlorphentermine

The influence of short-term and chronic administration of chlorphentermine (Chlph) on the structure and phospholipid (PL)-content of the lungs was studied in guinea pigs. The drug was given daily in a dose of 40 mg per kg body weight i.p. The PL-content of the whole lung as well as the phosphatidyl choline (PC)-portion were estimated in animals treated with Chlph for 4, 5 and 6 weeks. In a further experiment, the influence of 2, 4 and 28 days application on the PL-content of the lung lavage fluid separated into the acellular and cellular (macrophage) fraction was examined. Morphologic studies of lung, liver, heart, kidney, spleen, brain, and pancreas supplemented the PL-content analysis. The amount of PL in the whole lung increases continuously with the duration of the treatment but only moderately. The PC-fraction of the total PL remains constant throughout the experiment. A substantially greater increase was detected in the lung lavage fluid whereby the cellular fraction is most affected. Very important is the result that the PL-content of the lung lavage fluid reaches its highest level already after two Chlph-injections. After short-term administration the morphological examination of the lung mainly shows inflammatory infiltrations, whereas after long-term application a foam cell reaction is mainly localized in the interstitium. The studies show that an increase of the amount of lung sufactant in guinea pigs is possible following Chlph administration.