Effect of SO2 on nasal secretory cells.

Quantitative histochemical analysis of the secretory cells producing the different types of glycoproteins were examined in the chicken nasal cavity with and without moderate levels of SO2 exposure for 14 days. On the nasal maxillary concha of chickens, the number of acinar gland cells containing glycoproteins was significantly reduced on the 1st, 7th and 14th days of exposure to 11.8 ppm of SO2, but not on the 5th day of exposure. There was no histochemical modification in the intracellular glycoproteins of the acinar cells. The number of goblet cells in the same region increased greatly and showed a change of intracellular glycoproteins from neutral to acid between the 5th and 7th day of exposure.