Induced sputum CD8+ T-lymphocyte subpopulations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the inflammatory response to cigarette smoking differs between smokers who develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and those who do not and that the CD8+ T-lymphocytes have been identified as a key player in this process. The aim of this study was to investigate further the role of CD8+ cells and their subtypes in sputum cells.

Methods: Sputum induction was performed in 36 COPD patients, 25 smokers without COPD and 10 non-smoking healthy controls.

Comparison of sputum induction with bronchoalveolar lavage cell differential counts in patients with sarcoidosis.

Background And Aim: Induced sputum (IS) has been proposed as a useful non-invasive method mainly for the assessment of airway diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate IS cellular composition and T-lymphocyte subpopulations and to compare them with those of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in patients with sarcoidosis.

Methods: We studied prospectively 20 patients (12 female, 8 male) of median age 46 yr (range 25-65) with sarcoidosis and 10 normal subjects (5 female, 5 male) of median age 39 yr (range 26-60).