Table 2.

Effects of NAC, IL-4 and IFN-γ on intracellular concentrations of GSH and GSSG in alveolar macrophages

Treatment	GSH	GSSG	GSH/GSSG
Control	1·48 ± 0·27	0·88 ± 0·26	1·71 ± 0·19
NAC (2·5 mm)†	2·30 ± 0·30*	0·93 ± 0·26	2·52 ± 0·38
IFN-γ (100U/ml)‡	1·63 ± 0·27	0·47 ± 0·23	4·95 ± 0·66
IL-4(400 pg/ml)‡	0·39 ± 0·07*	1·31 ± 0·15**	0·32 ± 0·10

^†After incubation of AM (5·0 × 10⁶) with 2·5 mm of NAC for 2 h, GSH (nmol/5·0 × 10⁶ cells) and GSSG (nmol/5·0 × 10⁶ cells) were detected.

^*P < 0·05 compared with control.

^‡After incubating AM (5× 10⁶) with 400 pg/ml of IL-4 or 100 U/ml of IFN-γ for 72 h, GSH (nmol/5·0 × 10⁶ cells) and GSSG (nmol/5·0 × 10⁶ cells) were detected. Values are expressed as means ± s.d. of cells isolated from 5 participants.

*P < 0·05

^**P < 0·01 compared with IFN-γ treated cells.