Inflammatory events in the blood and airways of guinea pigs immunized to toluene diisocyanate.

Toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-induced asthma is a common cause of occupational lung disease. We used a model to investigate the course of bronchopulmonary inflammation following immunization with TDI. Guinea pigs were immunized by weekly intradermal injections and challenged with TDI 7 d after the third injection. The animals were killed at different times after challenge and prepared for histologic examination of central and peripheral airways, for immunohistochemical studies of T lymphocyte and eosinophil distribution, and for hematologic and serologic investigations. Specific IgG1 against TDI were present only in immunized animals. In immunized TDI-challenged animals there was a significant increase in the number of metachromatic cells (at 24 h) and a late increase of eosinophils (at 48 h) in the peripheral blood. Mast cells and eosinophils were also increased in the submucosa of central airways of immunized TDI-challenged animals. A similar pattern was observed in the animals' peripheral airways. Additionally, a significant increase of T-lymphocytes and eosinophils was found in the lamina propria at 6 h after exposure in immunized TDI-challenged animals as compared with control animals. In these immunized animals, TDI challenge caused a significant increase of eosinophils, T-lymphocytes, and CD4+ T cells. These findings indicate that intradermal injections of TDI induced a specific antibody response as well as an inflammatory process in both central and peripheral airways. T cells, particularly CD4+ T cells and eosinophils, are the key cells in the immunopathologic alterations induced by TDI in the guinea pig lung.