Science Journal of Clinical Medicine

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Sputum Expectoration as a Useful non-Invasive Alternative to Bronchoalveolar Lavage for Collecting Human Alveolar Macrophages in Tuberculosis Research

Received: 12 May 2013    Accepted:     Published: 20 June 2013
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Abstract

As tuberculosis (TB) still claims millions of lives in the world, more research should be directed toward understanding this disease and finding a more effective solution. In vivo human alveolar macrophages are an important focus in TB research since the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can be harbored within these cells in an inactive form for a long time before reactivation. To date, TB researchers collect alveolar macrophage samples using a special clinical procedure known as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in which a bronchoscope is inserted into the lung and the cell samples are collected after being washed out with fluid. BAL is an invasive procedure and its use for a clinical study would often meet with practical constraints and the patient’s psychological resistance. These concerns led us to seek a non-invasive approach. In the present study, we collected alveolar macrophage samples from patients with active tuberculosis using a simple sputum expectoration procedure and used the samples to assess the gene expression activities of these immune cells. In this work, we made contributions in two aspects. This study is the first to demonstrate that sputum expectoration is a useful non-invasive alternative for collecting alveolar macrophages whose gene activities would serve to monitor the disease activity. In addition, we analyzed the gene expression of alveolar macrophages in the in vivo samples obtained from TB patients, in contrast to related work where gene expression was profiled on alveolar macrophages collected from non-TB patients and then infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro.

DOI 10.11648/j.sjcm.20130203.16
Published in Science Journal of Clinical Medicine (Volume 2, Issue 3, May 2013)
Page(s) 92-97
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Tuberculosis, Alveolar Macrophage, Sputum Expectoration, Bronchoalveolar Lavage, Gene Expression

References
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[2] Dannenberg A M, Jr., Pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis: an interplay of tissue-damaging and macrophage-activating immune responses-dual mechanisms that control bacillary multiplication, in Tuberculosis: Pathogenesis, protection and control, B.R. Bloom, Editor. 1993, American Society for Microbiology: Washington, D.C. p. 459-483.
[3] Lauzardo M, Ashkin D. Phthisiology at the dawn of the new century. Chest 2000; 117(5): 1455-73.
[4] Ehrt S, Schnappinger D, Bekiranov S, et al. Reprogramming of the macrophage transcriptome in response to interferon-gamma and Mycobacterium tuberculosis: signaling roles of nitric oxide synthase-2 and phagocyte oxidase. J Exp Med 2001; 194(8): 1123-40.
[5] Ragno S, Romano M, Howell S, Pappin D J, Jenner P J, Colston M J. Changes in gene expression in macrophages infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a combined transcriptomic and proteomic approach. Immunology 2001; 104(1): 99-108.
[6] Wang J P, Rought S E, Corbeil J, Guiney D G. Gene expression profiling detects patterns of human macrophage responses following Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol 2003; 39(2): 163-72.
[7] Thuong N T, Dunstan S J, Chau T T, et al. Identification of tuberculosis susceptibility genes with human macrophage gene expression profiles. PLoS Pathog 2008; 4(12): e1000229.
[8] Kuo H P, Yu C T. Alveolar macrophage subpopulations in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Chest 1993; 104(6): 1773-8.
[9] Lennart P H, Eklund D, Larsson M, Welin A, Paues J, Idh J. Alveolar macrophages from patients with tuberculosis exhibit reduced capacity of restricting growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a pilot study of vitamin D stimulation in vitro. Microbiology Discovery 2013, . 1-6. doi: 10.7243/2052-6180-1-6
[10] Nepal R M, Mampe S, Shaffer B, Erickson A H, Bryant P. Cathepsin L maturation and activity is impaired in macrophages harboring M. avium and M. tuberculosis. Int Immunol 2006; 18(6): 931-9.
[11] Sadek M I, Sada E, Toossi Z, Schwander S K, Rich E A. Chemokines induced by infection of mononuclear phagocytes with mycobacteria and present in lung alveoli during active pulmonary tuberculosis. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 1998; 19(3): 513-21.
[12] Chang J C, Wysocki A, Tchou-Wong K M, Moskowitz N, Zhang Y, Rom W N. Effect of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its components on macrophages and the release of matrix metalloproteinases. Thorax 1996; 51(3): 306-11.
[13] Silver R F, Walrath J, Lee H, et al. Human alveolar macrophage gene responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains H37Ra and H37Rv. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2009; 40(4): 491-504.
Author Information
  • Research and Development, Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Long Beach, California

  • Research and Development, Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Long Beach, California

  • Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

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  • APA Style

    Li M. Fu, Charles D. Sohaskey, Brenda Jones. (2013). Sputum Expectoration as a Useful non-Invasive Alternative to Bronchoalveolar Lavage for Collecting Human Alveolar Macrophages in Tuberculosis Research. Science Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2(3), 92-97. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjcm.20130203.16

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    ACS Style

    Li M. Fu; Charles D. Sohaskey; Brenda Jones. Sputum Expectoration as a Useful non-Invasive Alternative to Bronchoalveolar Lavage for Collecting Human Alveolar Macrophages in Tuberculosis Research. Sci. J. Clin. Med. 2013, 2(3), 92-97. doi: 10.11648/j.sjcm.20130203.16

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    AMA Style

    Li M. Fu, Charles D. Sohaskey, Brenda Jones. Sputum Expectoration as a Useful non-Invasive Alternative to Bronchoalveolar Lavage for Collecting Human Alveolar Macrophages in Tuberculosis Research. Sci J Clin Med. 2013;2(3):92-97. doi: 10.11648/j.sjcm.20130203.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjcm.20130203.16,
      author = {Li M. Fu and Charles D. Sohaskey and Brenda Jones},
      title = {Sputum Expectoration as a Useful non-Invasive Alternative to Bronchoalveolar Lavage for Collecting Human Alveolar Macrophages in Tuberculosis Research},
      journal = {Science Journal of Clinical Medicine},
      volume = {2},
      number = {3},
      pages = {92-97},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjcm.20130203.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjcm.20130203.16},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjcm.20130203.16},
      abstract = {As tuberculosis (TB) still claims millions of lives in the world, more research should be directed toward understanding this disease and finding a more effective solution. In vivo human alveolar macrophages are an important focus in TB research since the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can be harbored within these cells in an inactive form for a long time before reactivation. To date, TB researchers collect alveolar macrophage samples using a special clinical procedure known as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in which a bronchoscope is inserted into the lung and the cell samples are collected after being washed out with fluid. BAL is an invasive procedure and its use for a clinical study would often meet with practical constraints and the patient’s psychological resistance. These concerns led us to seek a non-invasive approach. In the present study, we collected alveolar macrophage samples from patients with active tuberculosis using a simple sputum expectoration procedure and used the samples to assess the gene expression activities of these immune cells. In this work, we made contributions in two aspects. This study is the first to demonstrate that sputum expectoration is a useful non-invasive alternative for collecting alveolar macrophages whose gene activities would serve to monitor the disease activity. In addition, we analyzed the gene expression of alveolar macrophages in the in vivo samples obtained from TB patients, in contrast to related work where gene expression was profiled on alveolar macrophages collected from non-TB patients and then infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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    AU  - Li M. Fu
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    AB  - As tuberculosis (TB) still claims millions of lives in the world, more research should be directed toward understanding this disease and finding a more effective solution. In vivo human alveolar macrophages are an important focus in TB research since the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can be harbored within these cells in an inactive form for a long time before reactivation. To date, TB researchers collect alveolar macrophage samples using a special clinical procedure known as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in which a bronchoscope is inserted into the lung and the cell samples are collected after being washed out with fluid. BAL is an invasive procedure and its use for a clinical study would often meet with practical constraints and the patient’s psychological resistance. These concerns led us to seek a non-invasive approach. In the present study, we collected alveolar macrophage samples from patients with active tuberculosis using a simple sputum expectoration procedure and used the samples to assess the gene expression activities of these immune cells. In this work, we made contributions in two aspects. This study is the first to demonstrate that sputum expectoration is a useful non-invasive alternative for collecting alveolar macrophages whose gene activities would serve to monitor the disease activity. In addition, we analyzed the gene expression of alveolar macrophages in the in vivo samples obtained from TB patients, in contrast to related work where gene expression was profiled on alveolar macrophages collected from non-TB patients and then infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro.
    VL  - 2
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