Persistance of genetically modified AM after in vivo transfer of alveolar macrophages that have been modified in vitro with AdGFP or AdNull. After infection (200 moi, 90 minutes at 37°C), the cells were washed and 2 × 105 cells were transplanted to the lungs of syngeneic recipient mice via the intratracheal route. AM were recovered by lavage after 2 and 14 days, and adherent cells were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy. GFP fluorescence is shown in green. Nuclei are counterstained with DAPI (blue) and autofluorescence appears yellow-orange. (A) AM recovered 2 days after transfer of AdNull-infected cells to the lung. (B) Same as (A) but AdGFP-infected AM. (C) AdNull, 14 days. (D) AdGFP, 14 days. Bar = 50 μm. Cells recovered from naive mice showed only autofluorescence (not shown). (E) Quantitative assessment of the number of genetically modified AM. Shown is the percentage of cells expressing green fluorescence, reflecting AM expression of GFP.
