Modified epithelial cell distribution in chronic airways inflammation

Abstract

Although airway epithelium is known to be modified during chronic respiratory diseases, epithelial cells have rarely been precisely quantified. We therefore intended to evaluate epithelial cell distribution in inflammatory airways, using a cytological approach. Nasal airway cells in 12 patients with nonallergic chronic rhinitis were sampled by brushing, quantified after cytocentrifugation and compared to those from eight controls. Cell populations were quantified after May-Grünwald Giemsa staining and α-tubulin immunolabelling to demonstrate ciliary differentiation. When compared to controls, rhinitis patients exhibited lower percentages of ciliated cells (59±4 versus 32±2%, respectively), and higher percentages of goblet (24±3 versus 37±2%) and basal cells (9±1 versus 18±2%). After tubulin immunolabelling, positive staining was specifically detected in cells with cilia (LC+), and in the cytoplasm of some small round cells without obvious cilia (LC-). Fewer immunolabelled cells were detected in rhinitis patients than in controls (with significantly lower percentages of LC+ and higher percentages of LC-).Nasal brushing is an effective technique for quantification of airway epithelial cells. Tubulin immunolabelling is useful to detect ciliated cells and distinguishes another cell population, possibly preciliated cells. These cytological findings suggest the presence of modifications of epithelial differentiation and proliferation, possibly related to local chronic inflammation.

Cystic Fibrosis F508del Patients Have Apically Localized CFTR in a Reduced Number of Airway Cells

“…1C). With results similar to ours, other authors described the percentages of epithelial cells in nasal brushings of non-CF control subjects and patients with CF to be approximately 70% to 87% (Bridges et al, 1991), but this decreased to 65% in patients with chronic rhinitis (Chapelin et al, 1996). With regard to specific cell types in nasal brush samples, our results revealed a similar distribution among non-CF subjects, carriers, and patients with CF, ie, nonsignificant differences in all comparisons of specific cell types among the three groups analyzed (see Fig.…”

“…In our case, the brush was a hard, longbristled interdental brush and may collect cells from deeper layers of the basal epithelium than the brushes used by other authors. Altogether, our results show that the populations of nasal cells recovered in CF and non-CF samples are similar and do not differ substantially from those previously described (Chapelin et al, 1996;Danel et al, 1996), thus validating the analysis of brush-obtained nasal cells.…”

“…Other authors consider preciliated cells to be ciliated as well. These are cells that, although not presenting cilia, have the same characteristic columnar shape and stain positively for tubulin at the apical membrane because of the presence of basal bodies (Chapelin et al, 1996). For BCs, the difference in percentages between our results (25%) and those of Chapelin et al (8%) may depend on the method used, ie, the type of brush used or the pressure applied on the brush by the operator.…”

“…This is mainly because of the invasiveness and risk of most techniques aimed at collecting human cells (eg, biopsies), the small number of cells thus collected, or the limited number, poor quality, and nonrepresentative nature of samples resulting from surgery (such as nasal polypectomies or lung transplants). Brushing of the respiratory tract, however, a noninvasive method originally proposed for ciliary studies (Kelsen et al, 1992;Rutland and Cole, 1980;Rutland et al, 1982), allows the easy sampling of numerous, representative, wellpreserved, and dissociated cells from the superficial mucosa (Bridges et al, 1991;Chapelin et al, 1996;Danel et al, 1996). The present study was thus performed on cell samples obtained by nasal brushings of F508del homozygous patients with CF, F508del carriers, and non-CF control subjects.…”

“…for CCs and BCs, which were determined to be approximately 57% and 8%, respectively (Chapelin et al, 1996). It is possible that the cells that we considered CCs are fewer in our study because we chose to include in this group only those in which cilia were distinctly observed (Fig.…”