NEUTROPHIL CHEMOTACTIC ACTIVITY IN BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUID OF PATIENTS WITH AIDS-ASSOCIATED PNEUMOCYSTIS-CARINII PNEUMONIA

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is accompanied by an acute inflam matory infiltration of the lung parenchyma, The cellular infiltrate is characterized by inflammatory cells including neutrophils, lymphocyte s and macrophages, Furthermore, neutrophilia in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid has been shown to confer a poor prognosis in PCP. We ther efore investigated the potential of BAL fluid from 17 patients with PC P to induce neutrophil chemotaxis. BAL fluid from patients induced con siderable neutrophil chemotactic activity compared to normal controls, Elevated levels of IL-8 mere detected in patient samples as compared to controls, A specific anti-IL-8 antibody significantly reduced chemo tactic activity of patient samples by more than 50%. In conclusion, IL -8 appears to be a significant participant of neutrophil chemotaxis in AIDS-associated PCP, and may participate in the recruitment of neutro phils to the lung during PCP.