Abstract
Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis (PAM) is a rare diffuse lung disease characterised by the accumulation of calcium phosphate microliths within the alveoli.
The causative mechanism of PAM has only recently been discovered, and involves a gene mutation of sodium phosphate co-transporter, which is expressed by alveolar epithelial cells. This mutation may have variable consequences on the clinical phenotype. However, pulmonary cell immune phenotyping in familial PAM has not previously been assessed.
In the present article, the analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of two siblings with PAM diagnosis revealed a pattern of lymphocytic alveolitis with accumulation of CD8+ T-cells. The clonal complexity of this lymphocyte’s population was assayed by spectratyping, which showed an oligoclonal accumulation of T-cells with a restricted variable beta T-cell receptor (TCR) gene usage. TCR analysis in peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed no abnormal patterns of T-lymphocytes.
在肺肺泡microlithiasis家族cases reported, CD8-mediated maladaptive immune response may have taken place in the bronchoalveolar compartment. The relationship between this immune dysregulation and genetic background in pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis warrants further investigation.
- Bronchoalveolar lavage
- 弥漫性肺部疾病
- pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis
- T-CD8 lymphocytes
- T-receptor repertoire
Footnotes
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