HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (9) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Laflamme, C. Articles by Cormier, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Laflamme, C. Articles by Cormier, Y.

Apoptosis of bronchoalveolar lavage lymphocytes in hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Unité de recherche, Centre de Pneumologie, Hôpital Laval. Institut de cardiologie et de pneumologie de l'Université Laval, Canada

CORRESPONDENCE: Y. Cormier, Hôpital Laval, 2725 Chemin Ste-Foy, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada , G1V 4G5. Fax: 1 4186564762. E-mail: yvon.cormier@med.ulaval.ca

Keywords: apoptosis, inflammation, lung, lymphocytes

Received: October 2, 2001
Accepted October 2, 2002

The aim of this study was to look at the apoptosis of alveolar lymphocytes in hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). HP patients and normal unexposed controls were studied.

The percentage of apoptotic lymphocytes was significantly lower in HP patients than in normal patients (37.4±3.4 versus 56.5±5.5% for Annexin V and propidium iodine detection methods and 0.4±0.1 versus 1.0±0.2% for dUTP nick end-labelling technique (TUNEL)). The proportion of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) lymphocytes positive for Fas antigen was significantly higher in HP patients than in normal subjects (71.7±5.4 versus 50.4±9.0%). However, no significant difference was found in the proportion of BAL lymphocytes positive for Fas ligand (FasL) between the two groups. Soluble Fas (sFas) levels in the BAL fluid of the patients and normals were 80.5±8.5 pg·mL^–1 and 23.2±3.1 pg·mL^–1, respectively. A positive correlation was found between the percentage of BAL lymphocytes and the levels of sFas for the total subjects but not within the separate study groups. The intracellular quantity of the inducible anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-xL product was significantly higher in the pulmonary lymphocytes of HP patients than in lymphocytes of the control, while no difference was found for constitutive anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl–2).

In conclusion, the apoptosis of pulmonary lymphocytes is lower in hypersensitivity pneumonitis than in normal subjects. This could be explained, at least in part, by an increase of soluble Fas, the anti-apoptic gene, and Bcl-xL.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Paranjpe, L.C.F. Bordador, M.-y. Wang, W.R. Hume, and A. Jewett Resin Monomer 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate (HEMA) is a Potent Inducer of Apoptotic Cell Death in Human and Mouse Cells J. Dent. Res., February 1, 2005; 84(2): 172 - 177. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]