title: Smoking influences the immunological architecture of the human larynx.
abstract: Little is known about the effects of demographic and lifestyle factors on laryngeal mucosal immunology. Pinch biopsies of laryngeal mucosa were studied from 63 patients without laryngeal disease. Areas of positive staining for HLA-DR, HLA-DQ, HLA-DP, CD45, CD45RA, CD45RO, CD4, CD8, and CD79 were calculated. Patients were stratified according to gender and smoking status. Analysis of covariance showed current cigarette smokers had increased numbers of CD4+ T cells and there was an association between older age and greater CD4+ T cell numbers in both epithelium and lamina propria. Older age and female gender were associated with decreased lamina propria CD4+ CD45RO+ T cells and an increase in CD4+ CD45RO- T cells. T cell populations in the larynx may therefore be influenced by smoking, age and gender. We hypothesize that smoking induces changes in normal immunological function of the larynx, which may contribute to the etiology of inflammatory disease and cancer.
authors.affiliation: Laryngeal Research Group, Division of Veterinary Pathology, Infection and Immunity, Clinical Veterinary Science, Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK. l.e.rees@bris.ac.uk
authors.forename: Louisa E N
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: Philip H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ayoub
authors.forename: Sinnappa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gunasekaran
authors.forename: Krishnan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajkumar
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haverson
authors.forename: Mick
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Martin A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Birchall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007820:Laryngeal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D007830:Larynx / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology