Article    Table of Contents                    Full Text of this article Free    Figures/Tables List    Related articles in Annals  Services    Send comment/rapid response letter    Notify a friend about this article    Alert me when this article is cited    Add to Personal Archive    Download to Citation Manager    ACP Search                            Get Permissions  Google Scholar    Search for Related Content  PubMed Articles in PubMed by Author:    Spinozzi, F.    Bertotto, A.    Related Articles in PubMed    PubMed Citation    PubMed

BRIEF COMMUNICATION

Increased Allergen-Specific, Steroid-Sensitive T Cells in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid from Patients with Asthma

Fabrizio Spinozzi, MD; Elisabetta Agea, MD; Onelia Bistoni, BSc; Nicolino Forenza, MD; Alessandro Monaco, MD; Gabrio Bassotti, MD, PhD; Ildo Nicoletti, MD; Carlo Riccardi, MD; Fausto Grignani, MD; and Alberto Bertotto, MD

15 January 1996 | Volume 124 Issue 2 | Pages 223-228

Objective: To test the hypothesis that allergen-specific, steroid-sensitive T lymphocytes are increased in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with asthma.

Design: Case series.

Setting: The outpatient allergy services at the University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.

Patients: 12 untreated atopic patients (6 children and 6 adults) with mildly symptomatic chronic asthma were studied. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from 10 healthy nonsmoking volunteers and age-matched children with cystic fibrosis (n = 5) or anatomic malformation of the airways (n = 4) served as control samples.

Intervention: Three patients received treatment with deflazacort, 60 mg twice daily, for 1 week.

Measurements: CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8⁺ T cells from patients and controls were examined by two-color flow cytometry for coexpression of V1 and V2 isoforms of the T-cell receptor. In vitro pulmonary T-cell proliferation in response to a specific allergen, the apoptotic death of these cells after incubation with 10^–7 M dexamethasone, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid T-lymphocyte composition before and after 1 week of deflazacort therapy were evaluated in 3 Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-sensitive patients.

Results: The proportion of T lymphocytes, primarily CD4⁺ or CD4^– CD8^– cells, was higher in asthmatic patients than in controls (P < 0.05 by one-way analysis of variance). Most lung CD4⁺ lymphocytes expressed the T-cell receptor V1 chain. These cells proliferated in response to allergen stimulation, underwent steroid-induced apoptosis in vitro, and disappeared after systemic steroid treatment.

Conclusions: Allergen-specific, steroid-sensitive T cells may be one of the cellular components involved in the airway inflammation that characterizes allergic bronchial asthma.

Author and Article Information

From the University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Acknowledgments: The authors thank Ms. Judy Etherington for helpful suggestions in reviewing the English version of the manuscript.
Grant Support: In part by MURST (Italian Ministry for University and Scientific Research).
Requests for Reprints: Fabrizio Spinozzi, MD, Istituo Medicina Interna e Science Oncologiche, Universita di Perugia, Policlinico Monteluce, I-06100 Perugia, Italy.
Current Author Addresses: Drs. Spinozzi, Agea, Nicoletti, and Grignani: Istituto di Medicina Interna e Scienze Oncologische, Universita di Perugia, Policlinico Monteluce, I-06100, Perugia, Italy.

Related articles in Annals:

Editorials
T Cells in Asthma
Milton D. Rossman AND Simon R. Carding

Annals 1996 124: 266-267. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Sjaheim, J. Kongerud, O. Bjortuft, P. A. Drablos, D. Malterud, and T. S. Halstensen Reduced bronchial CD4+ T-cell density in smokers with occupational asthma Eur. Respir. J., December 1, 2006; 28(6): 1138 - 1144. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Krug, V. J. Erpenbeck, K. Balke, J. Petschallies, T. Tschernig, J. M. Hohlfeld, and H. Fabel Cytokine Profile of Bronchoalveolar Lavage-Derived CD4+, CD8+, and gamma delta T Cells in People with Asthma after Segmental Allergen Challenge Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., July 1, 2001; 25(1): 125 - 131. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. R. Foxwell, J. M. Kyd, G. Karupiah, and A. W. Cripps CD8+ T Cells Have an Essential Role in Pulmonary Clearance of Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae following Mucosal Immunization Infect. Immun., April 1, 2001; 69(4): 2636 - 2642. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. V. Wisnewski, H. Cain, N. Magoski, H. Wang, C. T. Holm, and C. A. Redlich Human gamma /delta T-Cell Lines Derived from Airway Biopsies Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., March 1, 2001; 24(3): 332 - 338. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. M. Schramm, L. Puddington, C. A. Yiamouyiannis, E. G. Lingenheld, H. E. Whiteley, W. W. Wolyniec, T. C. Noonan, and R. S. Thrall Proinflammatory Roles of T-Cell Receptor (TCR)gamma delta and TCRalpha beta Lymphocytes in a Murine Model of Asthma Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., February 1, 2000; 22(2): 218 - 225. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				M. SCHUSTER, T. TSCHERNIG, N. KRUG, and R. PABST Lymphocytes Migrate from the Blood into the Bronchoalveolar Lavage and Lung Parenchyma in the Asthma Model of the Brown Norway Rat Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., February 1, 2000; 161(2): 558 - 566. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				C. A. Yiamouyiannis, C. M. Schramm, L. Puddington, P. Stengel, E. Baradaran-Hosseini, W. W. Wolyniec, H. E. Whiteley, and R. S. Thrall Shifts in Lung Lymphocyte Profiles Correlate with the Sequential Development of Acute Allergic and Chronic Tolerant Stages in a Murine Asthma Model Am. J. Pathol., June 1, 1999; 154(6): 1911 - 1921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Spinozzi, E. Agea, M. Fizzotti, G. Bassotti, A. Russano, S. Droetto, O. Bistoni, F. Grignani, and A. Bertotto Role of T-helper type 2 cytokines in down-modulation of Fas mRNA and receptor on the surface of activated CD4+ T cells: molecular basis for the persistence of the allergic immune response FASEB J, December 1, 1998; 12(15): 1747 - 1753. [Abstract] [Full Text]