In rats, Sephadex treatment on days 0, 2 and either 4 or 5 resulted in
a blood and lung eosinophilia, an increase in lung cell fragility, an
increase in the functional activity of peritoneal eosinophils in vitr
o and a sustained increased responsiveness of lung parenchymal strips
to KCl, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and carbachol that was not associat
ed with oedema or gross fibrosis. The corticosteroid dexamethasone, wh
en given before each injection of Sephadex, reduced all these effects
of Sephadex. When given 30 min after the last injection of Sephadex, d
examethasone had no effect on the number of blood and lung eosinophils
but it did reduce the functional activity of peritoneal eosinophils,
the increased lung cell fragility and the hyperresponsivness to 5-HT.
Repeated administration of dexamethasone to rats with an established h
yperresponsiveness that was no longer associated with cellular inflamm
ation had minimal effects on this hyperresponsiveness.