Figure 3.

Formaldehyde has little effect on inflammatory mediator release from precision-cut human lung slices (PCLSs) or HASM cells. In the supernatants of lung slices, formaldehyde reduced the (A) IL-6 and (B) IL-8 levels, although the reduction was not statistically significant (mean ± SEM; n = 3 donors). (C) IL-6 levels in the culture supernatants of HASM cells were not altered by formaldehyde exposure. TNF-α (10 ng/ml, 24 h) induced a robust IL-6 level in the HASM cells (mean ± SEM; n = 4 donors). To confirm whether formaldehyde adversely affects the viability of slices, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity was determined in supernatants. (D) Formaldehyde caused marginal LDH release compared with 10% Triton X 100 (six slices from two independent donors).