The American review of respiratory disease
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Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. · Jan 1990
Oxygen radical production by alveolar inflammatory cells in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic inflammatory interstitial lung disease characterized by the accumulation of alveolar macrophages (AMs) and neutrophils in the lower respiratory tract, parenchymal cell injury, and fibrosis of the alveolar structure. Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) are claimed to be a major cause of tissue damage in IPF; however, the source of ROI has not been unequivocally identified. AMs, as well as neutrophils, are capable of releasing these agents. ⋯ In comparison with the controls, the spontaneous as well as the stimulated ROI release of total BAL cells in IPF are markedly increased (20,763.9 +/- 5,079.3 versus 2,509.5 +/- 300.6 counts/10 s/2.10(5) cells, spontaneously, IPF versus control; 106,819.3 +/- 33,802.8 versus 8,919 +/- 1,357.9 PMA induced; 41,597.1 +/- 8,442.6 versus 6,223.8 +/- 1,025.1 zymosan induced, p less than 0.001). Measurement of the ROI release of purified AMs revealed that these cells produce the bulk part of ROI released by BAL cells (84%). In spite of the fact that, on a per cell basis, the ROI release of neutrophils is 1.7-fold of that of AMs, there is no correlation between the ROI production of total BAL cells and the percentage of neutrophils in BAL, demonstrating a minor role of these cells in the generation of the total ROI burden in IPF.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)