Related Experiment Videos
Bronchial biopsies in asthma. An ultrastructural, quantitative study and correlation with hyperreactivity
P K Jeffery1, A J Wardlaw, F C Nelson
1Department of Lung Pathology, National Heart and Lung Institute, London, England, U.K.
The American Review of Respiratory Disease
|December 1, 1989
Summary
Mild asthma involves airway structural changes, including epithelial loss and basement membrane thickening, correlating with bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Inflammatory cell changes are also noted in symptomatic asthma patients.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Cell Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Mild asthma's structural changes are poorly understood.
- Atopic asthmatics, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, exhibit bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the light and electron microscopic structural differences in bronchial biopsies from mild asthmatics compared to controls.
- To correlate structural changes with bronchial hyperresponsiveness and asthma symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was used to obtain lobar bronchial biopsies from 11 atopic asthmatics and 10 control subjects.
- Quantitative light and electron microscopy were performed.
- Bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine was assessed.
Main Results:
- Epithelial loss was observed in symptomatic asthmatics and correlated with airway reactivity.
- A trend towards thickening of the reticular lamina in the epithelial basement membrane was found in hyperreactive asthmatics.
- Symptomatic asthmatics showed altered proportions of inflammatory cells, particularly increased lymphocytes, in the lamina propria and submucosa.
Conclusions:
- Mild asthma is associated with significant airway structural alterations, including epithelial damage and basement membrane changes.
- These structural changes correlate with bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
- Inflammatory cell infiltration patterns differ in symptomatic asthmatics, suggesting a role in disease pathogenesis.