Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Murine Intrapulmonary Tracheal Transplantation: A Model for Investigating Obliterative Airway Disease After Lung Transplantation
Published on: November 10, 2023
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness and the bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after lung transplantation
David W Reid1, E Haydn Walters, David P Johns
1Lung Transplant Service, Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. David.Reid@monash.edu.au
Abstract:
Because bronchial hyperresponsiveness has been linked to the bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), we determined PD(20) methacholine (PD(20(M))), PD(15) hypertonic saline (PD(15(HS))) and their dose-response slopes (DRS(M) and DRS(HS)) in 8 single and 18 double lung transplant recipients within 1 year of lung transplantation and examined the relationship to bronchoalveolar lavage cell profiles and subsequent development of BOS. Twenty-two patients (81%) had a positive methacholine and 6 (25%) a positive hypertonic saline challenge. A positive PD(15(HS)) was associated with an increased risk for BOS at 2 years (odds ratio 12.6, 95% confidence interval 1.3-123.5, p < 0.05), and time to BOS was significantly and negatively related to DRS(HS) (r = -0.5, p < 0.05) - that is, the greater the response, the shorter the time to BOS. Interestingly, DRS(HS) correlated positively with recipient:donor total lung capacity ratio (r = 0.5, p < 0.05), but there was no relationship between either challenge result and airway inflammation. Methacholine hyperresponsiveness is common after lung transplantation but is not prognostic, whereas response to hypertonic saline may reflect recipient:donor size matching and provide useful information regarding the potential for BOS development.
Related Concept Videos
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease III: Chronic Bronchitis Features
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-II: Pathophysiology
Chronic Inflammation
Pulmonary Cycle: Exhalation
Asthma-II: Pathophysiology and Classification
Additionally, environmental and genetic factors play crucial roles in determining an individual's susceptibility to asthma and the severity of their condition.
Critical processes in asthma pathophysiology include:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease II: Emphysema
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease I: Introduction

