title: Increased Peripheral Blood Pro-Inflammatory/Cytotoxic Lymphocytes in Children with Bronchiectasis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bronchiectasis (BE) in children is common in some communities including Indigenous children in Australia. Relatively little is known about the nature of systemic inflammation in these children, especially the contribution of specific pro-inflammatory and cytotoxic lymphocyte subsets: T-cells, natural killer (NK) cells and NKT-like cells. We have shown that these cells produce increased cytotoxic (granzyme b and perforin) and inflammatory (IFNγ and TNFα) mediators in several adult chronic lung diseases and hypothesised that similar changes would be evident in children with BE.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intracellular cytotoxic mediators perforin and granzyme b and pro-inflammatory cytokines were measured in T cell subsets, NKT-like and NK cells from blood and bronchoalveolar samples from 12 children with BE and 10 aged-matched control children using flow cytometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant increase in the percentage of CD8+ T cells and T and NKT-like subsets expressing perforin/granzyme and IFNγ and TNFα in blood in BE compared with controls. There was a further increase in the percentage of pro-inflammatory cytotoxic T cells in Indigenous compared with non-Indigenous children. There was no change in any of these mediators in BAL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood bronchiectasis is associated with increased systemic pro-inflammatory/cytotoxic lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. Future studies need to examine the extent to which elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytotoxic cells predict future co-morbidities.
authors.affiliation: Lung Research, Hanson Institute and Dept. Thoracic Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland School of Medicine, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Upham
authors.affiliation: Child Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Queensland University of Technology, Children's Health Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland Australia.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Dept. Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Baines
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland School of Medicine and Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Yerkovich
authors.affiliation: Child Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pizzutto
authors.affiliation: Lung Research, Hanson Institute and Dept. Thoracic Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hodge
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000097:blood*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D053804:Granzymes / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology; D008297:Male; D054353:Perforin / Q000097:blood; D044382:Population Groups; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000166:cytology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D054353:Perforin; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D053804:Granzymes