Increased phagocytic cell chemiluminescence in patients with cystic fibrosis
R. L. Roberts and E. R. Stiehm
UCLA Cystic Fibrosis Research Center.
The oxidative burst of polymorphonuclear cells and monocytes from patients
with cystic fibrosis as measured by luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence was
examined after in vitro activation of the cells. All patients were
outpatients at the time of the assays; their median age was 25.5 years
(range, 12 to 33 years) and normal controls were young healthy adults.
Stimulation of polymorphonuclear cells with phorbol myristate acetate, the
chemotactic peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, and the
calcium ionophore A23187 resulted in significantly greater
chemiluminescence responses from the cells of patients than from the
control cells. The monocyte response of patients to opsonized zymosan was
also greater than that of controls. Thus, phagocytic cells from adolescents
and young adults with cystic fibrosis have a greater chemiluminescence
response to a variety of stimuli. This may result in tissue damage in the
lungs of these patients and thus make them more susceptible to pulmonary
infections.
