Drug treatment of experimental silicosis.

It has already been shown that tissue cultures of phagocytic cells may be protected against the toxic effect of silica dust by a number of organic bases and aluminium complexes. These compounds have now been used to treat mice after the administration of silica dust intravenously. Protective activity was measured by capacity to inhibit or retard the development of silicotic nodules in the livers of the experimental animals. Drugs active in this respect were an aluminiumdextran complex, phenazine B749, methylene blue, and compound 46-107. Compound 46-107 is related chemically to compound 48-80, the subject of a previous study of protective action, but lacks the latter drug's disruptive effect on mast cells.