Critically ill patients: immunological evidence of inflammation in muscle biopsy.
OBJECTIVE
To verify whether muscle necrosis in critically ill patients could be due to an inflammatory process, we tested muscle biopsies from five intensive care patients with different inflammation-specific immunocytochemical markers (antibodies anti-class I major histocompatibility complex products (class I MHCP or HLA I), membrane attack complex (MAC), T lymphocytes helper-inducer (CD4), cytotoxic (CD8) and pan-B-lymphocytes).


RESULTS
In three patients muscle biopsy showed class I MHCP positivity on the surface membrane of several groups of fibres, mainly perifascicular, and scattered microvascular deposits of MAC. In the other two patients muscle biopsy did not show class I MHCP and MAC positivity.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that inflammation may be a component of muscle damage in some critically ill patients.
Bazzi
P
P
Centro Dino Ferrari, Istituto di Clinica Neurologica dell' Università di Milano, IRCCS, Ospedale Maggiore, Policlinico, Italy.
Moggio
M
M
Prelle
A
A
Sciacco
M
M
Messina
S
S
Barbieri
S
S
Tonin
P
P
Tomelleri
G
G
Battistel
A
A
Adobbati
L
L
Checcarelli
N
N
Veschi
G
G
Scarlato
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D009336:Necrosis