Source: Annual Congress 2001 - Inflammatory mechanisms of COPD
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Background: Inflammation in the airways plays an important role in asthma and COPD. It is unclear whether this also plays a role in asymptomatic subjects with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Aim: In a sample from a general adult population we determined whether airway inflammation was related to chronic respiratory symptoms and/or AHR (PC₂₀ [lte] 8 mg/ml histamine), and other characteristics including atopy, blood eosinophilia and smoking habits. Methods: Bronchial biopsies were obtained from 14 symptomatic subjects with AHR, 12 symptomatic subjects without AHR, 12 asymptomatic subjects with AHR, and from 19 asymptomatic subjects without AHR. Airway inflammation and vascular adhesion molecules were assessed by immunostaining (CD3, CD4, CD8, MBP, EG2, AA1, NP57, CD68, CD20/22, CD25, and CD54, CD106, CD62E combined with CD31 antibodies). Results: There was no difference in inflammation between the four groups. A new finding is the lower number of macrophages in symptomatic atopic individuals (median= 35.5, range=20-84) than in non-atopic (68, 13-220) or asymptomatic atopic individuals (67.5, 26-127). More CD8+ T-cells were observed in smokers (62.5, 13-153) than in never smokers (47, 1-94), and more eosinophils in subjects with blood eosinophilia (4, 0-30) than in subjects without blood eosinophilia (1, 0-22). Discussion: The inflammatory mechanisms in atopic symptomatic subjects may indirectly downregulate the number of macrophages. Eosinophilia in asymptomatic subjects with AHR may indicate a heightened immune response capable of activating the eosinophils in the bronchial wall.

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D. F. Jansen, D. S. Postma, B. Rutgers, J. Kraan, W. Timens (Groningen, The Netherlands). Airway inflammation in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects with and without airway hyperresponsiveness. Eur Respir J 2001; 16: Suppl. 31, 2112

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