Tuberc Respir Dis.  2003 Nov;55(5):459-466.

Submucosal CD4+ and CD8+ T Lymphocyte Infiltrations in Asthma and Eosinophilic Bronchitis

• Lee SY
• Lee SY
• Kim JH
• Shin C
• Shim JJ
• Kang KH
• Yoo SH
• In KH
• Jeong WY
• Lee JH
• Kim HK

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.

Keyword

CD4+; CD8+; lymphocyte; asthma; eosinophilic bronchitis

MeSH Terms

Airway Obstruction
Asthma*
Bronchitis*
Eosinophils*
Humans
Lymphocyte Count
Lymphocytes*
T-Lymphocytes