The modulation of inflammatory response in the peritoneal cavity through stimulation of the pleural cavity: an experimental study in the rat.

To establish whether local inhibition of emigration or a centrally acting mechanism is responsible for the diminished response to a second inflammatory stimulus, three groups of young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats received in intrapleural injections of glycogen followed 4 h later by intra-peritoneal Beef Heart Infusion/protease Peptone. Two, 4 and 8 h after the second injection cell counts were made on both the pleural and peritoneal effusions. Circulating PMNs were also monitored using tail vein blood. The prior injection of glycogen intrapleurally significantly suppressed the subsequent accumulation of peritoneal PMNs in response to the second stimulus. The mechanism of this suppression is discussed.