Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and after treatment with interferon alpha.
BACKGROUND
Previous studies have shown that patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) were more likely to be seropositive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) than normal controls, and that patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) sometimes developed pulmonary fibrosis. The possibility that HCV infection and/or treatment with IFN-alpha are involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis or alveolitis was investigated.


METHODS
A prospective non-randomised study was performed in 13 healthy controls and in patients with chronic hepatitis C before (n = 13) and after (n = 10) treatment with IFN-alpha. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid cell counts, ratios and T cell subsets, and the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1 beta, tumour necrosis factor(TNF)-alpha, and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) were measured.


RESULTS
Lymphocyte counts in the BAL fluid were significantly increased in both groups of patients (median (range) values: before treatment, 36.8 (1.5-226.0); after treatment, 16.2 (4.5-97.6)) compared with the normal controls (3.3 (0.5-32.3)). In the pretreatment group the activated T cell (HLA-Dr positive) count was also increased (51 (40-74)) compared with that in the normal controls (27 (4-52)), but after treatment it was decreased (40 (0-76)) compared with the pretreatment count. Administration of IFN-alpha did not affect these parameters. IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, and HGF were not detected.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that HCV infection is associated with increased counts of lymphocytes and neutrophils in BAL fluid and that treatment with IFN-alpha appears to alter lymphocyte surface markers.
Yamaguchi
S
S
First Department of Internal Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto City, Japan.
Kubo
K
K
Fujimoto
K
K
Honda
T
T
Sekiguchi
M
M
Sodeyama
T
T
D000328:Adult; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; D002452:Cell Count; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007962:Leukocytes; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D016676:Macrophages, Alveolar; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests
D016207:Cytokines; D016898:Interferon-alpha