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Immunoglobulin secreting cells were quantitated in the bronchial lavage fluids of 12 normal volunteers and compared with immunoglobulin secreting cells in peripheral blood, by a reverse hemolytic plaque assay. The mean number of cells secreting immunoglobulin (Ig)G in bronchial lavage fluids was 489 per million lymphocytes vs. a mean of 175 IgG secreting cells per million lymphocytes in peripheral blood (P < 0.02). The mean number of IgA secreting cells in bronchial lavage fluids was 633 per million lymphocytes as compared to 100 per million lymphocytes in peripheral blood (P < 0.005). Thus, compared to peripheral blood, cells from the lavage fluids were relatively enriched for both IgG and IgA secreting cells. However, IgA secreting cells were the major class of immunoglobulin secreting cells in bronchial lavage fluids, whereas IgG secreting cells predominated in peripheral blood. The prominence of IgA secreting cells in bronchial lavage fluids was further demonstrated by a mean ratio of IgA/IgG secreting cells in bronchial lavage fluids of 1.26 compared to a ratio in peripheral blood of 0.57 (P < 0.02). Cells secreting IgM were identified in only four of seven bronchial lavage fluid samples studied but in all peripheral blood samples. IgE secreting cells were not present in normal peripheral blood but could be demonstrated in 5 of 11 lavage fluid specimens. Thus, cells actively secreting immunoglobulins can be identified in the lower bronchial-alveolar tree of normal human subjects. Cells secreting IgG, IgA, or IgM may function in local lung defenses against infection; cells secreting IgE may contribute to hypersensitivity reactions in the lung.
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
January 1978,
Acta oto-laryngologica,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
December 1990,
Zhonghua jie he he hu xi za zhi = Zhonghua jiehe he huxi zazhi = Chinese journal of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
November 1989,
British journal of haematology,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
November 1993,
Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
January 1979,
Bulletin europeen de physiopathologie respiratoire,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
January 1982,
Transplantation,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
January 1984,
Zentralblatt fur Gynakologie,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
October 1993,
Scandinavian journal of immunology,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
May 1997,
Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology,
E C Lawrence, and
R M Blaese, and
R R Martin, and
P M Stevens
October 1986,
The American journal of the medical sciences,
