Morphogenesis and pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases. XI. Histoenzymatic study of the experimentally developing lung granulomas.

The development of lung granulomas induced in rabbits by an intravenous injection of the complete Freund adjuvant containing dog pulmonary proteins was followed by histologic and histoenzymatic methods. By comparison with normal rabbit lungs. the developing structures of the induced lung granulomas showed an increase of all tested enzymes at 15 days, and a secondary intensity decrease of the activity of malic dehydrogenase, of acid and alkaline phosphatases, and of alanyl-aminopeptidase at 30 days. Only the hydroxyproline-epimerase showed at these intervals an increasing activity in the lung granulomas. The developed reticulinic fibrils appeared to have a highly intense alkaline phosphatase activity.