Table 10.

Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from rats treated with nano-sized Nd₂O₃ for 28 days

Parameter (after 28-day exposure)	Dose (mg/m3)
	0	0.5	2.5	10
No. of animals examined	8	8	8	8
Total cells (103/μL)	0.78 ± 0.31a	29.3 ± 16.0*	73.4 ± 32.0**	67.0 ± 15.4**
Macrophages (103/μL)	0.77 ± 0.30	19.3 ± 14.5	46.8 ± 28.7*	31.3 ± 8.57**
Neutrophils (103/μL)	0.01 ± 0.03	9.96 ± 3.10**	26.5 ± 7.35**	35.7 ± 10.3**
LDH (IU/L)	89.9 ± 33.4	771 ± 195**	1117 ± 179**	1080 ± 345**
Albumin (mg/dL)	0.00 ± 0.00	18.3 ± 7.18**	33.9 ± 13.3**	36.9 ± 19.1**
IL-6 (pg/mL)	71.6 ± 9.63	82.9 ± 14.9	102 ± 8.90**	114 ± 22.2**
TNF-α (pg/mL)	3.64 ± 0.41	5.94 ± 1.09*	7.89 ± 2.49*	8.46 ± 3.46*
Parameter (after 28-day recovery)	Dose (mg/m3)
	0	0.5	2.5	10
No. of animals examined	8	8	7	8
Total cells (103/μL)	1.01 ± 0.56	9.91 ± 10.3	56.4 ± 40.3	96.9 ± 43.1**
Macrophages (103/μL)	0.98 ± 0.55	5.91 ± 5.39	32.5 ± 28.7	49.3 ± 22.2**
Neutrophils (103/μL)	0.02 ± 0.02	3.99 ± 5.02	23.9 ± 13.0*	47.3 ± 21.1**
LDH (IU/L)	27.1 ± 6.95	109 ± 57.9*	669 ± 113**	1216 ± 264**
Albumin (mg/dL)	1.13 ± 1.46	4.38 ± 4.66	30.2 ± 7.08**	63.9 ± 18.4**
IL-6 (pg/mL)	70.0 ± 7.91	72.8 ± 10.3	77.9 ± 9.93	100 ± 16.5*
TNF-α (pg/mL)	2.63 ± 0.69	3.52 ± 0.91	7.59 ± 2.10**	9.34 ± 3.47**

LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; IL-6, interleukin-6; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

^aValues are expressed as means ± SD.

^*,**Significantly different from vehicle control at p<0.05 and p<0.01.