Involvement of metallothioneins in regulation of macrophage activity after combined radiation and thermal injury.

The levels of reduced metallothioneins (MT) in peritoneal macrophages and liver of mice subjected to combined radiation and chemical injury displayed opposite changes: the macrophage level of MT decreased and the liver MT increased. Simultaneously, there was an increase in luminol- and lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence of phagocytizing macrophages. Stimulation with CdCl2, a MT inducer, for three days before the injury increased the levels of MT in macrophages but decreased its liver levels. This effect was accompanied by a decrease in the intensity of the luminol-dependent but not lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence. Administration of CdCl2 after the injury facilitated the induction of reduced MT in liver cells; however, its levels in macrophages remained low, and the intensity of their chemiluminescence did not decrease. The data suggest that MT is involved in oxidative metabolism and regulation of macrophage activity after combined radiation and thermal injury.