Lymphocytes In Induced Sputum Research Articles

Induced sputum abnormalities in gas station attendants.

To investigate inflammatory changes in the induced sputum (IS) of gas station attendants (GSAs) at risk of exposure to fuel vapors through inhalation and susceptible to respiratory complaints and impaired lung function. Hypertonic saline-IS was collected from 52 GSAs who had never smoked (42 men, age = 35.9 ± 8.9years) and had no known comorbidities. A group of 22 non-smokers (11 men, age = 30.5 ± 5.1years) selected from the University staff served as control. The GSAs answered a questionnaire and underwent spirometry and chest tomography. A total of 15 inflammatory biomarkers associated with inflammation, including cytokines, chemokines, and mediators of immunological response, were also measured. The most common symptoms of GSAs were coughing (42.3%) and dyspnea (59.6%) based on the New York Heart Association (NYHA; Class II) classification. Significant elevations (p < 0.05) in forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume within the first second were observed in the GSAs relative to those in the controls (GSA vs. control: 99 ± 12% vs. 90 ± 9% and 94 ± 11% vs. 87 ± 10%, respectively). The GSAs had a lower percentage of IS lymphocytes than that in the control group (4.5 ± 5.7% vs. 7.7 ± 9.8%). The GSAs also had significantly lower concentrations of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12P70, IFN-γ, and MIP-1α, but IL-3 levels were higher. No differences were observed in the airway thickness and the amount of emphysema between the GSAs and the controls. Despite normal lung function and absence of abnormalities on HRCT, GSAs have a higher frequency of respiratory complaints, with evidence of impairment of lymphocytic activity in the airways.

Is Induced Sputum A Useful Noninvasive Tool in the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis?

In patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, the provocation of sputum expectoration through the inhalation of hypertonic saline has been investigated as an alternative diagnostic tool for invasive procedures. We aimed to assess the diagnostic value of induced sputum (IS) by observing its cell distribution in patients with a confirmed histopathological diagnosis of sarcoidosis. In this prospective, cross-sectional study, we compared the IS results of 20 patients with a histopathologically confirmed pulmonary sarcoidosis diagnosis and 24 healthy volunteers. The percentages of macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils in IS and the CD4/CD8 ratio were compared. The percentage of lymphocytes in IS was significantly higher in the pulmonary sarcoidosis patients compared to the control group (41.6% vs 8.9%, p<0.001). There were no significant differences in the other IS cell percentages and CD4+/CD8+ ratio between the groups. Sputum induction was well tolerated. Sputum induced by the inhalation of hypertonic saline is a safe, inexpensive, less invasive, and easily repeated method and can be a valuable alternative to other invasive methods in the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Cellular Composition of Induced Sputum in Sarcoidosis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cellular composition of induced sputum (IS) in sarcoidosis and its role in assessing the disease activity. The safety of the procedure was also determined. Sputum induction by inhalation of hypertonic saline was performed. Twenty-one samples from the healthy controls, 32 from patients with active disease, and 33 from subjects with inactive disease were analysed. The percentage of lymphocytes in IS was significantly higher in active sarcoidosis than in inactive disease and the control group (9.7% vs. 3.1% vs. 2.9%), and was the highest in the patients with parenchymal changes and active disease (13.3%). The percentage of macrophages was significantly lower in active sarcoidosis than in normal subjects (76.8% vs. 83.4%). It was also significantly lower in IS in active disease and stages II and III than in both subgroups with active and inactive stage I of sarcoidosis. There were no significant differences in the IS cell percentages between the whole sarcoidosis group and the controls. Sputum induction was well tolerated and stopped only four times, two of them because of dyspnoea or the decrease of PEF. The symptoms were well reversible after administering salbutamol. Sputum induction by inhalation of hypertonic saline is safe, but the evaluation of IS differential cell counts is not useful in sarcoidosis diagnosing. However, it could be used in assessing the activity of the disease, especially in patients with interstitial lung changes.

Comparative analysis of induced sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) profile in asbestos exposed workers

BackgroundBiological monitoring of healthy workers exposed to hazardous dusts lack validated screening tools. Induced sputum (IS) cellular profile was compared with bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) profile in asbestos exposed workers in order to assess its usefulness in monitoring workers exposed to asbestos for a long period of time.MethodsIS and BALF analysis was performed in 39 workers of a car brakes and clutches factory that uses chrysotile asbestos. Selection criteria were an employment history of > 15 years and the absence of a diagnosis of pneumonoconiosis. The type of cells, the existence of dust cells, of iron laden macrophages and of asbestos bodies were assessed and compared between IS and BALF samples.Results35 IS samples (90%) had dust cells, 34 (87%) iron laden macrophages and in 8 samples (21%) asbestos bodies were found. In most samples neutrophils were dominated. Samples with asbestos bodies (ABs) had significantly higher lymphocytes and lower neutrophils count compared with the samples without ABs. Macrophages and neutrophils in IS and BALF exhibited significant inter-relations (Spearman's rho: 0.26-0.29, p < 0.05) while IS lymphocytes count showed an inverse relation with BALF neutrophils (Spearman's rho: -0.36). Neutrophils and dust cells were highly correlated between the samples (Spearman's rho: 0.35, p < 0.05) while IS dust cells and lymphocytes were inversely related (Spearman's rho: -0.36, p < 0.05). More years of employment in the company was related with more neutrophils (Spearman's rho: 0.26) and less lymphocytes (Spearman's rho: -0.33) count. In multivariate analysis the presence of AB in IS samples was strongly related to the presence of asbestos bodies and lymphocytes count in BALF samples.ConclusionsIS and BALF analysis showed a similar cellular profile indicating that IS sampling in exposed workers to asbestos as a less invasive and expensive method may be useful in providing an insight both for inhalation of dusts and inflammatory processes in the lung.

The Cellular Composition and Macrophage Phenotype in Induced Sputum in Smokers and Ex-Smokers With COPD

The relationship between smoking and COPD has been well-documented. We investigated the impact of cigarette smoking on airway inflammation in COPD patients. Changes in cell profiles in induced sputum (IS) samples from smokers with COPD and patients who ceased smoking were compared. Department of pneumonology in a university hospital. IS samples were collected from 17 smokers and 17 ex-smokers with COPD. We examined IS samples for differential cell counts and macrophage phenotypes determined by immunocytochemistry with monoclonal antibodies anti-CD11b, anti-CD14, anti-CD54, and anti-CD71. The median IS volume was greater and the total cell count was higher in smokers than in ex-smokers. The difference, however, was not significant. We did not find any significant differences in the proportions of cells and in the phenotypes of macrophages between the two groups, with the proportion of eosinophils being slightly higher in the group of smokers. We found, however, a significant positive correlation between the decrease in pulmonary function parameters and the number of pack-years smoked, an inverse correlation of pulmonary function test results with the number of lymphocytes in IS, and a correlation between some changes in the expression of macrophage surface markers and smoking history. There was no correlation between the time from smoking cessation and any cellular component found in IS samples. The analysis of IS samples in patients with COPD revealed no significant differences in cell count and macrophage phenotypes between active smokers and ex-smokers.

Induced Sputum in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Sarcoidosis: Comparison With Bronchial Wash and BAL

Sarcoidosis is characterized by a diffuse alveolar inflammatory process, although bronchial airways are often involved. This study compares the cellular profiles of induced sputum (IS), bronchial washing (BW), and BAL in newly diagnosed sarcoidosis patients to those in control subjects, and examines whether inflammatory cell counts from IS are correlated with inflammatory cell counts from BW and BAL in sarcoidosis patients. We recruited 15 untreated patients with stage I and II pulmonary sarcoidosis and 12 healthy volunteers. Sputum was induced with hypertonic saline solution in all individuals. Bronchoscopy was performed on a different occasion in all patients and in five control subjects. Mean lymphocyte counts in IS, BW, and BAL fluid from sarcoidosis patients were significantly higher than in control subjects (9.4% vs 3.8%, p < 0.05; 12.6% vs 3.9%, p < 0.05; 24.1% vs 2.6%, p < 0.05, respectively). Moreover, total cell count and percentage of epithelial cells in IS were significantly higher in sarcoidosis patients than in control subjects (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). In sarcoidosis patients, comparison between different samples showed significantly higher percentages of macrophages in BW and BAL than in IS (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively), whereas the percentage of neutrophils was higher in IS compared with BW and BAL (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). Finally, the percentage of lymphocytes in IS was significantly lower than that in BAL (p < 0.05) but not that in BW. We demonstrated that, compared with IS in healthy control subjects, IS in untreated pulmonary sarcoidosis patients contains more total cells, lymphocytes, and epithelial cells. Although the relative proportion of inflammatory cells in the three samples differed, lymphocyte counts in IS were high. This finding suggests that IS could be used as a valuable alternative to more conventional invasive techniques in clinical assessment of pulmonary sarcoidosis patients.