RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 BAL lymphocyte activation antigens and diffusing capacity are related in mild to moderate pulmonary sarcoidosis
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP 715
OP 718
DO 10.1183/09031936.93.06050715
VO 6
IS 5
A1 A Xaubet
A1 C Agusti
A1 J Roca
A1 C Picado
A1 R Rodriguez-Roisin
YR 1993
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/6/5/715.abstract
AB To investigate the relationship [corrected] between immunocytological features of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and clinical indices in sarcoidosis, we studied the lymphocyte subsets, as well as the expression of human leucocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) and interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) antigens in BAL lymphocytes. We studied 16 patients with untreated sarcoidosis and 12 control subjects. We found significantly higher absolute numbers of lymphocytes bearing the IL-2R antigen in sarcoidosis. A stronger difference between groups was observed in both the percentage and absolute numbers of HLA-DR+ lymphocytes. We also found a moderate but significant correlation between the number of lymphocytes expressing the activation antigens and single breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity in patients with sarcoidosis: DLCO vs HLA-DR+ lymphocytes (r = -0.60); DLCO vs IL-2R+ lymphocytes (r = -0.62); carbon monoxide transfer coefficient (KCO vs HLA-DR+ lymphocytes (r = -0.53); and KCO vs IL-2R+ lymphocytes (r = -0.58). Our results suggest that the reduction in diffusing capacity, expressed as either DLCO or KCO, results from the severity of alveolitis in mild to moderate sarcoidosis.