Abstract
Background: Bronchiectasis is a chronic disease characterized by permanent dilatation of the conducting airways accompanied by sustained inflammation. Aims: To assess whether chronic inflammation of lungs in bronchiectasis is associated with alterations in the numbers of infiltrating antigen presenting cell ( APC). Setting and Design: Lobectomy specimens from 12 nonsmoker, nonasthmatic patients with acquired ( noncongenital) bronchiectasis and six control patients were included in the study. Histopathology slides were reviewed, and immunohistochemical markers for dendritic cells ( DCs) macrophages and Langerhans cells have been applied and analyzed. Materials and Methods: Tissue specimens were stained by immunohistochemistry using markers for DCs ( CD83 and CD23), macrophages ( CD68 and CD163), and Langerhans cells ( CD1A and S-100 protein). The mean cell counts of stained cells in five high power microscopic fields were recorded. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviation, median, and interquartile range were used. A nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare cell counts between bronchiectasis and control patients. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of patients with bronchiectasis and controls was 36.7 +/- 16.6 and 31.8 +/- 22.6 years, respectively. The predominant cell type among the patients was macrophage ( median 50.5) followed by DCs ( median 44.85), histiocytes ( median 32), and Langerhans cells ( median 5%). Compared to the controls a significantly higher number of macrophages ( P = 0.01), DCs ( P = 0.001), and Langerhans cells ( P = 0.014) were present. Conclusion: Chronic inflammatory response in acquired ( noncongenital) bronchiectasis is most probably mediated by increased infiltration of APCs in lung tissues.