Increase of activated T-cells in BAL fluid of Japanese patients with bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia and chronic eosinophilic pneumonia.
To study the role of T cells in bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) and chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) and to examine the influence of differing racial background, T-cell subsets in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid (BALF) and in peripheral blood of 8 Japanese patients with idiopathic BOOP and 5 with CEP were compared with those of 15 normal subjects. The BALF pattern in BOOP was characterized by a significantly high number and percentage of lymphocyte and by a low CD4 to CD8 ratio compared with patients with CEP and healthy volunteers. Patients with CEP showed a significantly higher percentage of BALF eosinophils compared with other groups. There was no significant difference in BALF CD4 to CD8 ratio between patients with CEP and volunteers. Two-color analysis of T-cell subsets revealed that CD3+HLA-DR+ cells (activated T cell) in BALF of patients with BOOP and CEP increased significantly compared with volunteers, while BALF CD3+CD25+ cells (interleukin 2 receptor+ T-cell) did not. In addition, BALF CD8+HLA-DR+ cells (activated suppressor/cytotoxic T cell) in patients with BOOP and CD4+HLA-DR+ cells (activated helper T cell) in patients with CEP were significantly higher than levels detected in healthy subjects. The percentage of CD8+CD57+ cells and the number of CD8+CD11b- cells (cytotoxic T cell) in BALF were significantly higher in patients with BOOP compared with patients with CEP and healthy volunteers. There were no significant differences in the expression of peripheral blood T-lymphocyte surface antigens among the groups. These findings indicate that cytotoxic T cells in Japanese patients with idiopathic BOOP and helper T cells in CEP appear in the lungs is consistent with a previous report in Caucasians, supporting the hypothesis that T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of these diseases.
Mukae
H
H
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Miyazaki Medical College, Japan.
Kadota
J
J
Kohno
S
S
Matsukura
S
S
Hara
K
K
D000368:Aged; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D018549:Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011657:Pulmonary Eosinophilia / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000502:physiology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory