Intrapleural Administration of Clodronate Liposomes
We have identified only one reference to intrapleural administration of clodronate liposomes, however the author provided no details of the technique used to introduce the clodronate liposomes into the pleural space, nor was it clear when the clodronate liposome treatments were administered relative to the co-infections. The mice were also treated intravenously with 200 µl of the clodronate liposomes on the same schedule (daily dosing for 4 consecutive days), thus we cannot conclude that the intrapleural dosing route was effective, although Gr1high+, F4/80high+ cells isolated from the pleural cavity were depleted in treated animals. Since these animals were co-infected with L. sigmodontis through exposure to infected mites followed (after 60 days) by intravenous inoculation of P. berghei spores, it seems reasonable that intravenous systemic macrophage depletion alone could prevent infection-induced macrophage migration into the pleural cavity rendering the intrapleural injections unnecessary. Furthermore, intrapleural injections alone may not have accomplished depletion. Therefore, unfortunately, we cannot verify that intrapleural administration of clodronate liposomes effectively depletes any macrophage population based on this work. Additionally, the depletion played no role in the development of the thesis as described in the summary below.
