CHANGES IN THE PROPORTIONS OF BRONCHOALVEOLAR LYMPHOCYTES, NEUTROPHILS AND BASOPHILIC CELLS AND THE RELEASE OF HISTAMINE AND LEUKOTRIENES FROM BRONCHOALVEOLAR CELLS IN PATIENTS WITH STEROID-DEPENDENT INTRACTABLE ASTHMA
Y. Tanizaki et al., CHANGES IN THE PROPORTIONS OF BRONCHOALVEOLAR LYMPHOCYTES, NEUTROPHILS AND BASOPHILIC CELLS AND THE RELEASE OF HISTAMINE AND LEUKOTRIENES FROM BRONCHOALVEOLAR CELLS IN PATIENTS WITH STEROID-DEPENDENT INTRACTABLE ASTHMA, International archives of allergy and immunology, 101(2), 1993, pp. 196-202
The proportion of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) f
luid and the release of chemical mediators from BAL and peripheral blo
od cells were examined in 40 patients with steroid-dependent intractab
le asthma (SDIA) to clarify the effects of a long-term glucocorticoid
regimen on these cells. The proportion of BAL lymphocytes was signific
antly reduced (p < 0.01) and the proportion of BAL neutrophils was sig
nificantly increased (p < 0.01) in SDIA patients compared with non-SDI
A patients. The proportion of basophilic cells (mast cells and basophi
ls) in BAL fluid was significantly lower in SDIA patients compared to
non-SDIA patients (p < 0.02). The values of six ventilatory parameters
were significantly lower in SDIA patients with a high proportion of B
AL neutrophils (more than 10%) compared with the values in non-SDIA pa
tients. The release of histamine and leukotriene C4 (LTC4) from the BA
L cells of patients with atopic asthma was significantly reduced in SD
IA patients compared with non-SDIA patients (p < 0.05). These results
show that the changes in the proportion of BAL cells are observed in p
atients with SDIA, and these changes are related to suppressed ventila
tory function and a reduction in the release of histamine and LTC from
BAL cells.