| Submucosal CD4+ and CD8+ T Lymphocyte Infiltrations in Asthma and Eosinophilic Bronchitis. |
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Sang Yeub Lee, 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 |
1Pulmonary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. khin@ns.kumc.or.kr
2Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. |
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| 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. |
| Key Words:
CD4+, CD8+, lymphocyte, asthma, eosinophilic bronchitis |
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