慢性閉塞性肺疾患の肺病変における炎症細胞の分布

概要

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To investigate the role of inflammatory cells in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we evaluated infiltration by T-lymphocytes and macrophages in lung tissue sections obtained from smokers with COPD undergoing lung volume reduction surgery (n=8) as well as control smokers (n=5) and nonsmokers (n=4) undergoing lung resection for solitary lung cancer. Paraffin-embedded lung tissue sections were immunostained using antibodies against CD4, CD8, or CD68 and the results showed that smokers with COPD had increased numbers of CD4^+ T cells, CD8^+ T cells, and CD68^+ macrophages in the alveolar wall, compared with the control smokers and nonsmokers. Evaluation of the distribution of T cells by a morphometric analysis revealed that a greater number of CD4^+ T cells than CD8^+ T cells were located in the alveolar wall of emphysematous lesions characterized by a low alveolar wall fraction (Valv/Vv). By contrast, the number of CD4^+ T cells was similar to that of CD8^+ cells in normal areas as well as in fibrotic lesions characterized by a high Valv/Vv. These results suggest that CD4^+ T cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of emphysema, an essential pathologic feature of COPD.
東京女子医科大学の論文
2002-02-25