engleski

Sputum granulocyte and alveolar phagocyte alkaline phosphatase activity in two groups of patients: with acute lung infection and with lung carcinoma

Objective: Biochemical differences between inflammation and cancer have been investigated but are still an object of continuous research. Defective tumor antigen presentation may change immunological response and phagocytic activity. One of the biochemical markers of phagocytosis is alkaline phosphatase (ALP) cell activity. The aim of this study was to analyze sputum granulocyte and alveolar macrophage (AM) ALP activity in two groups of patients: those with acute lung infection (LI) and those with lung carcinoma (LC). Patients and methods: Microscopic analysis of granulocyte and AM cytochemical ALP activity was done in sputum of 19 patients with acute bacterial LI and in 31 patients with LC. Results: Percentages of ALP+ granulocytes were similar but score median of ALP+ granulocytes was slightly higher in patients with LC (161, 20-340) in comparison to patients with acute LI (147, range 42-300). However, both medians of percentages and scores of ALP+ AM were slightly lower in patients with LC (percentage: 59, 10-100 ; score: 114, 14-306) in comparison to the same parameters in patients with acute LI (percentage: 73, 14-94 ; score: 141, 34-204) ; with only marginal statistical difference for percentages of ALP+ AM (p=0, 07). Conclusion: Higher sputum granulocyte ALP activity found in LC patients is in concordance with other studies and could be connected with cytokine production (i.e. TNF and GM-CSF). Lower sputum AM ALP activity in LC patients probably reflected impaired immunological response, but this needs to be confirmed in further studies by analyzing, besides ALP activity, some cytokines (i.e. TNF and IFN-ß).

alveolar macrophage; alkaline phosphatase; lung infection; lung carcinoma

nije evidentirano