title: Sarcoidosis: an alveolar macrophage disease?
abstract: The Authors focus on new functions of alveolar macrophages (AM) from patients with active pulmonary sarcoidosis. They show that sarcoid AM present a candidacidal activity higher than normal controls, probably due to an enhanced phagocytic efficiency. Furthermore, after LPS stimulation cultured sarcoid AM secrete larger amount of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) than normal controls. In conclusion, a new key role is emerging for sarcoid AM: not only an antigen-presenting cell, but a cell with a great primitive potential in modulating the inflammatory process.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Fisiopatologia Respiratoria, Università di Perugia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Todisco
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vecchiarelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dottorini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Puliti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sini Grazia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gangitano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calvitti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bistoni
mesh_terms: D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000032:analysis / Q000166:cytology*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010587:Phagocytosis; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000276:immunology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha