MECHANISM OF SLOWING OF MUCOCILIARY TRANSPORT INDUCED BY SO2 EXPOSURE

Responses of nasal mucociliary transport mechanisms to exposure to 6 ppm SO//2 were studied in chickens in vivo. This model takes advantage of the natural cleft palate which exposes the mucociliated base of the nasal septum. Exposure to 6 ppm SO//2 decreased the mucociliary transport rate along the base of the nasal septum. The minimum force required to move an iron particle along this area of mucous membrane by use of a magnetic field in vivo increased significantly after SO//2 exposure, while the minimum force required to move an iron particle on a pool of mucus collected from the same chicken and tested in vitro showed no change after SO//2 exposure. The elastic recoil distance of mucus was measured both in vivo and in vitro. The in vivo recoil distance decreased significantly after SO//2 exposure, while SO//2 exposure did not change recoil distance in vitro.