Submucosal CD4+ and CD8+ T Lymphocyte Infiltrations in Asthma and Eosinophilic Bronchitis.
10.4046/trd.2003.55.5.459
- Author:
Sang Yeub LEE
1
;
Sung Yong LEE
;
Je Hyeong KIM
;
Chol SHIN
;
Jae Jeong SHIM
;
Kyung Ho KANG
;
Se Hwa YOO
;
Kwang Ho IN
;
Woon Yong JEONG
;
Ji Hye LEE
;
Han Kyeom KIM
Author Information
1. Pulmonary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. khin@ns.kumc.or.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
CD4+;
CD8+;
lymphocyte;
asthma;
eosinophilic bronchitis
- MeSH:
Airway Obstruction;
Asthma*;
Bronchitis*;
Eosinophils*;
Humans;
Lymphocyte Count;
Lymphocytes*;
T-Lymphocytes
- From:Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
2003;55(5):459-466
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Asthma and eosinophilic bronchitis(EB) are eosinophilic inflammatory diseases of the airway. However, EB differs from asthma in that there is no variable airway obstruction or airway hyper-responsiveness. Pathologically, asthma is characterized by the accumulation of eosinophils and CD4+ T lymphocytes in the submucosa. A recent study showed that there was no significant difference between asthma and EB in terms of the submucosal eosinophil and T lymphocyte count. However, it is not known whether or not an infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes occurs in the airways of EB patients. The aim of this study was to identify the difference between the two conditions by measuring the submucosal CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte count. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis of bronchial-biopsy specimens was performed in 17 subjects with asthma and 24 subjects with EB. RESULTS: The CD4+ T lymphocytes count in the asthma subjects and the EB subjects was similar (median, 58.6 vs 50.0 cells/mm2, respectively; P=0.341). In contrast, the number of CD8+ T lymphocytes in the EB subjects was higher than that in the asthma subjects (median, 46.7 vs 11.8 cells/mm2, respectively; P=0.003). CONCLUSION: The infiltration of submucosal CD8+ T lymphocytes may be associated with the pathophysiology of EB.
