Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1; CD54) is an adhesion molecule constitutively expressed in abundance on the cell surface of type I alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) in the normal lung and is a critical participant in pulmonary innate immunity. At many sites, ICAM-1 is shed from the cell surface as a soluble molecule (sICAM-1). Limited information is available regarding the presence, sou...

BACKGROUND A study was undertaken to assess both oxidative stress and inflammation in the lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during severe and very severe exacerbations compared with those with stable COPD, healthy smokers, and non-smokers. Two sites within the lungs were compared: the large airways (in sputum) and the peripheral airways (by bronchoalveolar lava...

BACKGROUND To obtain insight into the mechanisms of tissue injury in lung disease due to Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS), the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cell profile and the levels in the BAL fluid of cell products released by activated eosinophils and neutrophils were assessed. METHODS Thirteen patients with active progressive CSS (n = 7) or CSS in partial remission (n = 6) underwent clinical...

Chronic progressive spastic paraparesis occurring in tropical areas and southwest Japan is frequently associated with high antibody titers to HTLV-1 in serum and cerebrospinal fluid.12 We recently reported that T-lymphocyte alveolitis occurred in patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM).3 The presence of such pulmonary lesions were also described by Vernant and associates in patients wi...

Pulmonary artery aneurysms, arterial and venous thrombosis, pulmonary infarction, recurrent pneumonia, bronchiolitis obliterans organized pneumonia, and pleurisy are the main features of pulmonary involvement in Behçet's disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the production of B cell-activating factor of the TNF family (BAFF), an important regulator of B-cell survival and immun...

Challenge of the airways of sensitized guinea pigs with aerosolized ovalbumin resulted in an early phase of microvascular protein leakage and a delayed phase of eosinophil accumulation in the airway lumen, as measured using bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Immunoreactive eotaxin levels rose in airway tissue and BAL fluid to a peak at 6 h falling to low levels by 12 h. Eosinophil numbers in the tis...

BACKGROUND The granulomatous inflammation in sarcoidosis is driven by the interplay between T cells and macrophages. To gain a better understanding of this process the expression by these cells of cell surface activation markers, co-stimulatory molecules, and adhesion molecules was analysed. METHODS CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes from peripheral blood (PBL) or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid,...

OBJECTIVE Study of the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in some interstitial lung diseases can reveal patterns typical to each disease and that can support the diagnosis. The objective of this study was to perform a descriptive analysis of the cytologic study and of the lymphocyte subpopulations in BAL fluid from patients with interstitial lung disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this prospect...

We describe a research technique for fiberoptic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) using manual hand held suction in order to remove nonadherent cells and lung lining fluid from the mucosal surface. In research environments, BAL allows sampling of innate (lung macrophage), cellular (B- and T- cells), and humoral (immunoglobulin) responses within the lung. BAL is internationally acce...

We studied cytokine proteins and mRNAs in mice with two forms of Toxoplasma gondii pneumonia resulting from reactivation of infection. In the first form, mice were infected with T. gondii, developed and recovered from systemic disease, and then developed pneumonia 3 weeks later. As pulmonary inflammation developed, levels of cytokine mRNAs for gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2),...