PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Cristina Berastegui
AU  - Sara Sánchez-Vidaurre
AU  - Mario Culebras
AU  - Víctor Monforte
AU  - Manuel López-Meseguer
AU  - Carlos Bravo
AU  - Iker López
AU  - Ricardo Zapata
AU  - María Jesús Cruz
AU  - Antonio Román
TI  - Characterization of inflammation in bronchoalveolar lavage of lung transplant patients
DP  - 2013 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P2681
VI  - 42
IP  - Suppl 57
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2681.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2681.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2013 Sep 01; 42
AB  - Introduction: Inflammation plays an important role in the lung allograft’s long-term viability. The definition of the inflammatory profile based on the patient's condition is not well established. The aim of this study was to characterize the patterns of lung inflammation in patients who underwent lung transplantation (LT).Material and methods: Sixty LTs were performed in 25 women and 35 men between July 2010 and January 2012 (age: 45 years, range 22-67). Nine LTs were unipulmonary and 51 were bipulmonary. LT patients were divided into three groups: 1, stable (n=18), 2, pulmonary infection (n=18) and 3, chronic allograft dysfunction (CAD) (n=24). At the time of the study the mean postoperative follow-up was 37.3 (11.6-115) months. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were analyzed to determine differential cell count and to measure inflammatory biomarkers: Interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-6, TNFα, IFNγ, IL-10, IL-13, IL -17, GM-CSF, and total bile acids (TBA).Results: We observed higher percentage of BAL neutrophils in group 3 compared to groups 1 and 2 (p= 0.006, p=0.014 respectively). Increased levels of IL-17 and IL-13 were observed in group 2 compared to group 3 (p=0.046, p=0.034, respectively). We found higher concentrations of IL-10, GM-CSF and TBA in group 3 compared to group 1 (p= 0.05, p=0.010 and p=0.010, respectively).Conclusions: A distinct inflammatory profile was observed among patients with CAD and those with an acute allograft infection. The increased levels of TBA in CAD group supports the hypothesis that gastroesophageal reflux plays a role in its pathophysiology.