Comparative damage to alveolar macrophages after phagocytosis of respirable particles

Backscatter electron and secondary electron imaging were used in a scanning electron microscope study of the in vitro toxic effects of particles ingested by alveolar macrophages. Relatively nontoxic aluminosilicate fly ash particles from the Mount St. Helens eruption and from a coal-fired power plant as well as toxic quartz particles from the Westphalia (Germany) mine deposits were readily taken up by macrophages. The presence of fly ash particles inside the cells was not associated with any changes in surface morphology. The presence of intracellular quartz particles, on the other hand, was correlated with damage to the cell membrane as determined by alterations in surface morphology, uptake of trypan blue, and release of the cytoplasmic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase. The use of backscatter electron imaging is useful in scanning electron microscope studies which attempt to establish cause and effect relationships between exposure to respirable particles and the morphological and cytotoxic response.