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Alveolar tissue inflammation in asthma

Alveolar tissue inflammation in asthma
Alveolar tissue inflammation in asthma
As physiologic and autopsy evidence suggests that peripheral airways and parenchyma are involved in asthma, we hypothesized that significant alveolar tissue inflammation is present in patients with stable, chronic asthma. Eleven patients with nocturnal asthma (NA) and 10 patients with non-nocturnal asthma (NNA) were studied. Each subject underwent two bronchoscopies with proximal airway endobronchial and distal alveolar tissue transbronchial biopsy in a random order at 4:00 P.M. and 4:00 A.M. Morphometric analysis was used to determine the number per volume (Nv) of inflammatory cells. Between-group comparisons showed that the Nv of eosinophils was greater in the NA alveolar tissue 4:00 A.M. compared with the subjects with NNA (40.2 x 10(3) [26.4-57.1 x 10(3), IQ] versus 15.7 x 10(3) [2.1-35.2 x 10(3), IQ], p = 0.05). In regard to the airway biopsies, no difference in the inflammatory and epithelial cells between the two groups was seen at either time. The NA group exhibited greater eosinophils and macrophages in the alveolar tissue at 4:00 A.M. compared with 4:00 P.M. (40.2 x 10(3) [26.4-57.1 x 10(3), IQ] versus 10.3 x 10(3) [2.7-16.8 x 10(3), IQ], p = 0.016 for eosinophils and 215.1 x 10(3) [129.9-356.1 x 10(3), IQ] versus 166.3 x 10(3) [150.7-212.6 x 10(3), IQ], p = 0.031 for macrophages). Only alveolar tissue eosinophils, not proximal airway tissue eosinophils, correlated with the nocturnal decrement in lung function (r = -0.54, p = 0.03). These findings suggest that eosinophils and macrophages accumulate to a greater extent in the alveolar tissue and these changes contribute more to the variation in lung function compared with inflammation in the more proximal tissue.
1073-449X
1505-1510
Kraft, M.
a016b47e-641a-40b5-b77a-9101369e63b9
Djukanovic, R.
d9a45ee7-6a80-4d84-a0ed-10962660a98d
Wilson, S.J.
21c6875d-6870-441b-ae7a-603562a646b8
Holgate, S.T.
2e7c17a9-6796-436e-8772-1fe6d2ac5edc
Martin, R.J.
eb16089a-366e-4c26-958c-435aa6d87a0d
Kraft, M.
a016b47e-641a-40b5-b77a-9101369e63b9
Djukanovic, R.
d9a45ee7-6a80-4d84-a0ed-10962660a98d
Wilson, S.J.
21c6875d-6870-441b-ae7a-603562a646b8
Holgate, S.T.
2e7c17a9-6796-436e-8772-1fe6d2ac5edc
Martin, R.J.
eb16089a-366e-4c26-958c-435aa6d87a0d

Kraft, M., Djukanovic, R., Wilson, S.J., Holgate, S.T. and Martin, R.J. (1996) Alveolar tissue inflammation in asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 154 (5), 1505-1510. (doi:10.1164/ajrccm.154.5.8912772). (PMID:8912772)

Record type: Article

Abstract

As physiologic and autopsy evidence suggests that peripheral airways and parenchyma are involved in asthma, we hypothesized that significant alveolar tissue inflammation is present in patients with stable, chronic asthma. Eleven patients with nocturnal asthma (NA) and 10 patients with non-nocturnal asthma (NNA) were studied. Each subject underwent two bronchoscopies with proximal airway endobronchial and distal alveolar tissue transbronchial biopsy in a random order at 4:00 P.M. and 4:00 A.M. Morphometric analysis was used to determine the number per volume (Nv) of inflammatory cells. Between-group comparisons showed that the Nv of eosinophils was greater in the NA alveolar tissue 4:00 A.M. compared with the subjects with NNA (40.2 x 10(3) [26.4-57.1 x 10(3), IQ] versus 15.7 x 10(3) [2.1-35.2 x 10(3), IQ], p = 0.05). In regard to the airway biopsies, no difference in the inflammatory and epithelial cells between the two groups was seen at either time. The NA group exhibited greater eosinophils and macrophages in the alveolar tissue at 4:00 A.M. compared with 4:00 P.M. (40.2 x 10(3) [26.4-57.1 x 10(3), IQ] versus 10.3 x 10(3) [2.7-16.8 x 10(3), IQ], p = 0.016 for eosinophils and 215.1 x 10(3) [129.9-356.1 x 10(3), IQ] versus 166.3 x 10(3) [150.7-212.6 x 10(3), IQ], p = 0.031 for macrophages). Only alveolar tissue eosinophils, not proximal airway tissue eosinophils, correlated with the nocturnal decrement in lung function (r = -0.54, p = 0.03). These findings suggest that eosinophils and macrophages accumulate to a greater extent in the alveolar tissue and these changes contribute more to the variation in lung function compared with inflammation in the more proximal tissue.

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Published date: November 1996

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 191011
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/191011
ISSN: 1073-449X
PURE UUID: 04bf021e-f848-4561-905d-ddfb415f320c
ORCID for R. Djukanovic: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6039-5612
ORCID for S.J. Wilson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1305-8271

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Date deposited: 21 Jun 2011 13:57
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:36

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Contributors

Author: M. Kraft
Author: R. Djukanovic ORCID iD
Author: S.J. Wilson ORCID iD
Author: S.T. Holgate
Author: R.J. Martin

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