Forty-four patients, including 15 astmatics (5 atopic, 5 infectious and 5 mixed type), 13 lung cancer, 4 chronic bronchitis, 4 other pulmonary diseases and 8 non-pulmonary diseoses, were performed transtracheal bronchial mucosal biopsy.
The specimens were observed to distinguish the histological abnormality between asthmatics and non-asthmatics by using light-microscopical and immunopathological procedures.
By light-microscopy, 14 cases of asthmatics showed the thickening of mucous basement membrane (MBM) and infiltration of eosinophils in submucosal area and within or on the mucous lining cell, accompanied with submucosal edema, The pulmonary diseases other than bronchial asthma showed only infiltration of polymorphonuclear leucocytes in submucosal area.
By immunofluorescence, IgA and IgG deposits along MBM were observed in homogeneous pattern in many cases of atopic or mixed type asthmatics and chronic bronchitis. However, they were not found in the cases of infectious type asthmatics, and other pulmonary or non-pulmonary diseaes. IgE was found in three cases of the atopic type. but never found in any other types. Fibrin deposits along MBM were occasionary found in infectious type of asthmatics and the patients with chronic bronchitis. An attack occured in only one case of atopic type during the biopsy, and this case revealed the deposition of all immunoglobulins, C
1q, C3 and fibrin.
In addition of the biopsy, serial-biopsy were performed on the mucosa were antigen (house dust) was dropped on the MBM to observe time-related histological changes. In asthmatics, IgG and IgA increased with time after the dropping, but not in non-asthmatics.
Thus, immunological findings of mucous tissue in a variety of diseases were studied. In asthmatics, IgA and IgG deposits were found along the MBM in the atopic and mixed type, but no immunoglobulins were found in the infectious type.
On the ther hand, IgA, IgG and fibrin deposits were discovered in majority of the cases with chronic bronchitis. Therefore, it is suggested that the deposition of IgA and/or fibrin in MBM resulted due to the chronicity of the illness or bacterial stimulation to the mucosa.
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