FIG. 1.

Effect of inflammation on surfactant activity in the lungs of P. carinii-infected SCID mice. At 9 weeks after initial exposure to P. carinii (Pc), minimum surface tensions of the BAL fluid from nonreconstituted (open circles) and immune system-reconstituted (recon) (solid circles) SCID mice were measured. The reconstituted mice were examined during the peak inflammatory response at 12 DPR. P. carinii-free SCID mice (solid inverted triangles) were used as controls for normal surfactant activity. Minimum surface tension measurements were made with a pulsating-bubble surfactometer at 37°C during continuous cycling at a rate of 20 cycles/min. Each value is the mean ± 1 standard error for six mice.