Do nasal ciliary changes reflect bronchial changes? An ultrastructural study.

Ciliary dyskinesia is characterized by recurrent respiratory tract infections secondary to abnormal ciliary structure and function. The diagnosis of ciliary dyskinesia is based on the detection of axonemal ultrastructural abnormalities (AUA) is respiratory mucosa samples. In most cases, the diagnosis of AUA is made on samples obtained from nasal ciliated cells with little discomfort to the patient.

Inherited factors in diffuse bronchiectasis in the adult: a prospective study.

To evaluate the prevalence of inherited respiratory ciliary structure and underlying mucus abnormalities in the diffuse bronchiectasis syndrome, we investigated 53 subjects comprising 38 patients with diffuse bronchiectasis confirmed by high-resolution thoracic computed tomography, ten with chronic bronchitis and no diffuse bronchiectasis and five healthy nonsmoking control subjects. The clinical history was determined by means of a standardized questionnaire. Axonemal abnormalities of respiratory cilia were evaluated on bronchial or nasal mucosa samples by transmission electron microscopy (structure) and stroboscopic observation (function).

Dissimilar expression of axonemal anomalies in respiratory cilia and sperm flagella in infertile men.

Infertility by sperm immotility may be a consequence of axonemal defects, and it is sometimes associated with respiratory disease as in the primary ciliary dyskinesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the respiratory epithelium of 13 infertile patients with flagellar ultrastructural anomalies whether they suffered or not from respiratory disease. Only one patient had severe respiratory disease.

Effects of local anaesthetics (lidocaine) on the structure and function of ciliated respiratory epithelial cells.

Sampling for nasal or bronchial ciliated cells requires the use of anaesthetic agents, but such drugs may interfere with the morphological or functional results. Lidocaine is the most frequently used local anaesthetic. In order to study the morphological and functional effects of lidocaine hydrochloride, we designed an experimental study on ciliated cells from guinea pig and bovine trachea.

Occurrence and morphology of tumors induced in nude mice transplanted with chrysotile-transformed rat pleural mesothelial cells.

Rat pleural mesothelial cells treated in vitro with chrysotile fibers have been successfully transplanted into nude mice. Three cultures (1 untreated, 2 treated) were injected at passage 75; a fourth culture was obtained from a mesothelioma induced in rat by chrysotile fibers. Overall, tumors grew in each series, but the delay between cell injection and tumor formation was 22 wk with untreated cells whereas only 1 or 2 wk were needed with treated cells, and 1 wk with cells from in vivo-induced mesothelioma.