Alteration of a number of genes involved in inflammation indicated that Hg0 vapor exposure induced an inflammatory response in the lung. The lipopolysaccharide-inducible CXC chemokine LIX was increased 14-fold in lungs of Hg-exposed rats. This chemokine has potent chemoattractant activity for neutrophils and is implicated in inflammatory reactions (Nadarajah et al., 1996). The increased expression of TNF , TNF receptor, macrophage inflammatory protein-1, interleu