BACKGROUND In fibrosing alveolitis activation of lung fibroblasts is the decisive event in the pathogenetic sequence leading to pulmonary fibrosis. Fibroblast stimulating activity was measured in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid to assess its relationship to the activity of fibrosing alveolitis. METHODS Nine control subjects and 40 patients with fibrosing alveolitis caused by idiopathic pul...

Recently, an increased number of mast cells have been reported in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) of patients with farmer's lung disease. Some authors pointed out the pathogenetic importance of mast cells in farmer's lung on the basis of their correlation with the activity of the disease, with the BAL lymphocyte counts, and with the markers of lung fibrosis. To determine whether BAL reflects...

Prolonged exposure to cold air may induce a chronic asthma-like condition in healthy subjects as has been demonstrated in cross-country skiers. In the present controlled study, our aim was to elucidate further the link between cold air exposure and airway inflammation by assessing the cellular influx and mediator levels within the airways following acute exposure to cold air. Bronchoalveolar (B...

Background – Among the members of Legionellaceae, Legionella pneumophila is involved in more than 95% of cases of severe pneumonia. Isolation of the causative agent from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid specimen is a delicate process and also time-consuming. Moreover, it has been shown that some Legionella strains may be viable but cannot be cultured. The serological diagnosis, which is usual...

BACKGROUND In critically ill patients with pneumonia, accurate microorganism identification allows appropriate antibiotic treatment. In patients undergoing bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), direct examination of the fluid using Gram staining provides prompt information but pathogen identification accuracy is low. Culture of BAL fluid is actually the reference, but it is not available before 24 to 4...

PURPOSE Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. To understand the role of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in pulmonary fibrosis, we evaluated the sequential dynamic change and different cellular sources of the 2 MMPs along the time course and their differential expression in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and in the lung parenchyma of the bleomyc...

Background—Age related changes in the immune system have been studied frequently but a possible relation to sex has not, to our knowledge, previously been examined. The eVect of age and sex on the composition of lymphocyte subsets in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and peripheral blood was therefore examined. Methods—Bronchoscopy with lavage was performed in 32 healthy non-atopic, nonsmoking...

Although the application of thoracic high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) to clinical pulmonology has revolutionised the diagnostic approach to patients with suspected interstitial lung disease (ILD), additional testing is often needed to make a confident ILD diagnosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) can play a significant role in making an accurate and confident diagnosis of specific forms...

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to determine whether nano-sized carbon black exposure results in greater damage in high fat diet-induced overweight rats than normal weight ones and to identify the possible causes of any differences. METHODS Two groups of Sprague-Dawley rats allocated by body weight (normal and overweight) were exposed to aerosolized nano-sized carbon black for 6 hours a d...

BACKGROUND Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent a conserved family of innate immune recognition receptors. Among TLRs, TLR4 is important for the recognition of Gram-negative bacteria, whereas TLR2 recognizes cell wall constituents of Gram-positive microorganisms, such as peptidoglycan (PGN). METHODS To evaluate the role of TLR4 in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury induced by Escherichia c...