Cytokine panel and histopathological aspects in the systemic lupus erythematosus.

UNLABELLED: The systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a systemic autoimmune disorder with a multifactorial etiology, is characterized by the presence of autoantigens in some organs and tissues that induce the development of some antibodies with extended binding and with various specificities. The presence of antibodies is accompanied by disbalances in the immune cellular response, including alterations in the production of some cytokines. Cytokines, quite a heterogeneous group of protein molecules produced in small quantities by certain specifically stimulated cells, have the capacity to maintain the communication between different cell populations that participate in the immune response (messengers of the immune system), thus modeling a defense function. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study is to estimate the seric levels of some proinflammatory, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating cytokines in patients diagnosed with SLE, as well as some correlations between the seric levels of these cytokines and the histopathological aspects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were included in the study 35 patients diagnosed with SLE (active÷remission stage of the disorder), in whom there were determined, before administering the treatment with the immunoenzymatic technique ELISA, the seric level of the following cytokines: interleukins (IL) IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). The obtained results in the patients were compared to those observed in a control group, made up of 35 healthy subjects. RESULTS: The IL-2 production of T-lymphocytes was a deficient one (low seric levels in the majority of the patients), while cytokines IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha showed high seric levels. IL-10 plays a very important role in the SLE pathogeny, through the high seric levels, and it may be involved, as a predictive biological marker, in the quantification of the activity degree of the disorder. CONCLUSIONS: SLE represents an autoimmune disorder, characterized, among others, by a disbalance in the cytokine network. Signaling and regulating abnormalities of B-lymphocytes by cytokines are responsible of the excessive production of antibodies. IL-6 and IL-10 were proved to be key factors in the intensification of the inflammation and regulation of B-lymphocytes activity, by their polyclonal activation. Alongside TNF-alpha, they play an important part in the development of severe dermo-epidermal alterations.

Cytopathological Aspects in the Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a clinical syndrome characterised by a slow progressive decline in expiratory airflow [1], a process that has gradually developed over the years. Studies of patients with COPD show an inflammatory process in the small airways [2]. The aim of this paper is to identify the cytopathological aspects of the liquids present in the bronchoalveolar lavage in patients with COPD. We were performed a descriptive analytical case-control and prospective study on forty patients with COPD and ten asymptomatic smokers (healthy smokers or patients at risk). The percentage of marcophage, the type of the dominant inflamatory cell, in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) liquid was significantly higher at patients with mild and moderate COPD as compared to patients with severe and very severe COPD. In the present work, the percentage of the neutrophil in the BAL liquid was significantly higher at patients with severe and very severe COPD, as compared to the patients with mild and moderate COPD and to aparently healthy smokers. In conclusion, we can say that COPD is characterized by an inflammatory process located in the small airways with predominant participation of macrophages, the procentage of macrophages in BAL fluid variyng inversely proportional to the severity of the disease.