Immunopathologic alterations in the bronchi of immunized guinea pigs

Isolated lungs from guinea pigs actively sensitized to ovalbumin and boosted 2 wk later display an enhanced bronchoconstriction and release larger amounts of secondary mediators as compared with lungs from nonimmunized animals when stimulated by platelet-activating factor or other agonists. We have investigated changes in T lymphocytes and eosinophils found in the bronchial wall of immunized and nonimmunized guinea pigs. The animals received two injections of 10 micrograms ovalbumin in Al(OH)3, at a 2-wk interval. Two studies were performed: (1) the animals were killed 7 days after the booster injection of antigen, (2) they were challenged with ovalbumin at this same day and killed after 2 or 24 h. Lungs were resected and frozen, and cryostat sections stained using monoclonal antibodies that recognize T cells, T cell subsets, or other relevant epitopes. Cyanide-resistant peroxidase activity was used to identify eosinophils. A large number of T cells, mainly of the CD4+ subset, and eosinophils were recruited into the bronchi 7 days after the booster injection of the antigen, compared with nonimmunized or nonboosted animals. In antigen-challenged animals, the numbers of T cells did not change but eosinophils were further increased in number at the 24 h time point. Also at this time point, a population of cells with a dendritic appearance was seen in the bronchial wall, which did not express macrophage markers but was strongly class II positive. Class II positivity was also noted in the bronchial epithelium and on many cells infiltrating the mucosa. These findings suggest that activated T cells and/or their products play an important role in the bronchopulmonary immunopathology associated with this model and possibly with the development of bronchial hyperreactivity.