Macrophages In Induced Sputum Research Articles

Macrophages from the upper and lower human respiratory tract are metabolically distinct

The function and cell surface phenotype of lung macrophages vary within the respiratory tract. Alterations in the bioenergetic profile of macrophages may also be influenced by their location within the respiratory tract. This study sought to characterize the bioenergetic profile of macrophages sampled from different locations within the respiratory tract at baseline and in response to ex vivo xenobiotic challenge. Surface macrophages recovered from healthy volunteers by induced sputum and by bronchial and bronchoalveolar lavage were profiled using extracellular flux analyses. Oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification rates were measured at rest and after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), or 1,2-naphthoquinone (1,2-NQ). Oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification rates were highly correlated for all macrophage samples. Induced sputum macrophages had relatively higher oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification rates and were largely reliant on glycolysis. In contrast, bronchial fraction and bronchoalveolar macrophages depended more heavily on mitochondrial respiration. Bronchoalveolar macrophages showed elevated LPS-induced cytokine responses. Unlike their autologous peripheral blood monocytes, lung macrophages from any source did not display bioenergetic changes following LPS stimulation. The protein kinase C activator PMA did not affect mitochondrial respiration, whereas the air pollutant 1,2-NQ induced marked mitochondrial dysfunction in bronchoalveolar and bronchial fraction macrophages. The bioenergetic characteristics of macrophages from healthy individuals are dependent on their location within the respiratory tract. These findings establish a regional bioenergetic profile for macrophages from healthy human airways that serves as a reference for changes that occur in disease.

A Novel Alternative to Environmental Monitoring to Detect Workers at Risk for Beryllium Exposure-Related Health Effects

The purpose of this study was to describe a methodology for surveillance and monitoring of beryllium exposure using biological monitoring to complement environmental monitoring. Eighty-three Israeli dental technicians (mean age 41.6 ± 1.36 years) and 80 American nuclear machining workers (54.9 ± 1.21 years) were enrolled. Biological monitoring was carried out by analyzing particle size (laser technique) and shape (image analysis) in 131/163 (80.3%) induced sputum samples (Dipa Analyser, Donner Tech, Or Aquiva, Israel). Environmental monitoring was carried out only in the United States (Sioutas impactor, SKC, Inc., Eighty Four, Pa.). Pulmonary function testing performance and induced sputum retrieval were done by conventional methods. Sixty-three Israeli workers and 37 American workers were followed up for at least 2 years.Biological monitoring by induced sputum indicated that a >92% accumulation of <5 μm particles correlated significantly to a positive beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test result (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.2–11.4, p = 0.015) among all participants. Environmental monitoring showed that beryllium particles were <1 μm, and this small fraction (0.1–1 μ) was significantly more highly accumulated in nuclear machining workers compared to dental technicians. The small fractions positively correlated with induced sputum macrophages (r = 0.21 p = 0.01) and negatively correlated with diffusion lung carbon monoxide single breath (DLCO-SB r = 0.180 p = 0.04) in all subjects. Years of exposure were positively correlated to the number of accumulated particles 2–3 μ in diameter (r = 0.2, p = 0.02) and negatively correlated to forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity findings (r = −0.18, p = 0.02). DLCO was decreased in both groups after two years of monitoring.Biological monitoring is more informative than environmental monitoring in the surveillance and monitoring of workers in beryllium industries. Induced sputum is a feasible and promising biomonitoring method that should be included in the surveillance of exposed workers.

Trudności interpretacyjne w ocenie rozmazów komórkowych BAL i plwociny indukowanej

The role of quantitative methods in the cytological diagnosis of pulmonary diseases increases in recent years. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and induced sputum (IS) belong to these methods. Bronchoalveolar lavage plays an important role in the diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases, IS - in the differential diagnosis of asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, persistent cough. Both methods are valuable in the evaluation of pathogenesis of lung diseases. The aim of this presentation is to show the main similarities and differences in the morphology of cells in the BAL and IS and difficulties in the interpretation of results of these examinations (on the basis of 1000 BAL and 200 IS smears). The preparation of cell smears according to the obligatory standards plays the most important role in the quality of BAL and IS. If the fluid is bloody or epithelial cells are numerous it can not be qualified as diagnostic. A very good knowledge of the cell morphology is necessary in the quantitative analysis. Epithelial cells, macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils are routinely identified. Alveolar macrophages are very numerous heterogeneous cell population in the BAL. IS macrophages are less numerous, are smaller in size, have more condensed cytoplasm, contain less cigarette smoke particles, have higher expression of activation markers than BAL cells. Neutrophils are larger and eosinophils more often degranulated in the IS than in the BALF. Interpretation of squamous epithelial cells needs caution because of the phagocytary function of these cells. This study details differences significant in quantitative and qualitative analysis of BAL and IS in routine and immunocytochemical tests.