Activity of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase in lymphocytes of rats exposed to mixture of nitrogen oxides and chlorine.

Activity of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (GS) has been cytochemically studied in peripheral blood lymphocytes of rats exposed to the mixture of nitrogen oxides (1.22 mg/m3) and chlorine (1.02 mg/m3) during a period of 12 weeks. The decrease of the total lymphocyte count and in increase of the count of GS-positive lymphocytes with cytoplasmatic but not exclusively lysosomal localization have been noted after exposure. The increase of the count of lymphocytes containing the enzyme within both lysosomal granules and cytoplasm has been correlated with the exposure time and accompanied by diminishing the count of lymphocytes containing the enzyme within the lysosomal granules exclusively. The authors believe the changes noted above may result from toxic damage of lysosomes or the immune response of lymphocytes against antigens released from the damaged tissues.