title: Scar collagen deposition in the airways of allografts of lung transplant recipients.
abstract: Collagen subtype deposition has not been studied in the airways of transplanted lungs. As part of rejection, a series of immunologic insults results in a remodeling of the allograft. In chronic rejection, changes in the airway leading to obliterative bronchiolitis syndrome (OBS) are particularly important. To better understand the mechanism of OBS occurring in chronic lung rejection, we investigated deposition of three fibrillar collagens (type I, III, V) in airway biopsies of lung allografts taken from 10 clinically well lung transplant recipients (wLTR) and eight lung transplant recipients (LTR) with OBS (OBLTR) using an immunoperoxidase method. Collagen III deposition and the ratio of collagen type III to type I were found to be significantly increased in OBLTR compared with wLTR (p < 0.05), and the latter correlated inversely with both FEF(25-75) (r = -0.69; p < 0.05) and FEV1 (r = 0.62; p = 0.05) in OBLTR. This suggests that an increased proportion of collagen III in the airway walls of transplanted lungs might be an early signal of the progression to terminal chronic lung allograft dysfunction. The changes in the ratio of type III to type I collagen in the airways of lung allografts may provide important insights into the process of airway remodeling in chronic lung rejection.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Immunology Group, Alfred Hospital and Monash Medical School, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: G I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Snell
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Orsida
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Walters
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001980:Bronchi / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001989:Bronchiolitis Obliterans / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen