Further Studies on the Increase in Cholesterol Ester Content of the Lungs of Tuberculous Mice

During the progress of severe tuberculous infection in mice, the amount of cholesterol esters increased at a rate higher than other lipids in the granulomatous lungs. This increase was inhibited by chemotherapy with daily doses of 0.1 mg isoniazid. The intravenous injection of mice with heatkilled BCG organisms suspended in paraffin oil could also elevate the cholesterol ester level in the lungs. A time-course observation indicated that the esters were characteristic of unsaturated octadecanoic acids.