Chemiluminescence of pulmonary macrophages from patients with inactive sarcoidosis, in different radiological stages.

Abstract

Luminol-amplified chemiluminescence was generated by alveolar macrophages, harvested from the bronchoalveolar lavages of 16 patients with different radiological stages of non-invasive (asymptomatic) sarcoidosis. None of the patients received any steroid therapy during this study. The mean duration of the disease in these patients was 8 months, with a duration time range of 6-14 months. Six patients were in radiological stage 1, five in radiological stage 2 and five in radiological stage 3. Alveolar macrophages from bronchoalveolar lavages of eight healthy non-smoking volunteers were used as controls. All alveolar macrophages were stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate. A significant decrease was recorded in the intensity of chemiluminescence generated by the phorbol-ester-stimulated alveolar macrophages obtained from patients with sarcoidosis of radiological stages 1 and 2, as compared to the cells collected from healthy individuals (controls). No decrease was recorded in the chemiluminescence generated by stimulated alveolar macrophages collected from patients with radiological stage 3, or from unstimulated alveolar macrophages of any patient. These results provide us with an indicative tool, which might enable us to differentiate, on a functional basis, between the activities of alveolar macrophages in non-active sarcoidosis.