Flow cytometry in the exploration of the physiopathology of occupational lung disease

Our plain-English summary of Flow cytometry in the exploration of the physiopathology of occupational lung disease, by A.D. Curran (Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 1999).

The study

• Author: A.D. Curran
• Journal: Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Published: 1999;56(11):742-6
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Flow cytometry is a simple analytical technique used for the investigation of cells taken from various sources. Cells are identified by both their physical characteristics and the presence or absence of specific molecules on the cell surface. These molecules may be either phenotypic, or induced by a specific stimulus. Flow cytometry has been used to identify the nature and extent of the immune response in several occupational respiratory conditions including occupational asthma, irritant induced respiratory problems, and asbestos related lung disease. Also, it may be of value in monitoring workplace exposure to some hazardous materials. Although of limited diagnostic value at present, the technique has provided an insight into the modulation of immune cells, and their function, in people exposed to hazardous materials in the workplace. In this review, the principals of flow cytometry will be explored and the use of flow cytometry to investigate occupational respiratory disease will be discussed.

In plain English

This article was a review, not a new study. The author explained how flow cytometry identifies and counts cells using laser light and fluorescent markers. The author also described published studies that had used it to examine immune changes in occupational asthma, irritant-related problems and asbestosis, and noted no workplace COPD studies had been reported. The asbestos findings came from other researchers. One cited study of 122 asbestos-exposed workers (mean exposure 23 years) reported an increased percentage of CD8 positive cells in lung lavage fluid and a decrease in CD8 positive cells in blood. It also associated a higher CD4/CD8 ratio in lavage fluid with pleural thickening. Another cited study identified a subgroup of exposed workers with T cell alveolitis who had no present excess of asbestos-related disease. It was suggested they may be at risk of future disease. In a cited laboratory study, chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos and crystalline silica, but not titanium dioxide or wollastonite, induced an immune activator phenotype in alveolar macrophages. The author concluded that the technique was of limited use in diagnosing occupational disease at present.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: narrative review of the flow cytometry technique and of published studies using it in occupational lung disease
• Who was studied: No new subjects. The review covered published studies of occupational asthma, irritant induced respiratory problems and asbestos-exposed workers, and studies of exposure monitoring. For COPD, the author stated that no workplace studies had been reported and briefly mentioned non-workplace studies. The asbestos studies it described included one of 122 asbestos-exposed workers.
• Exposure: Various workplace exposures. For asbestos, the review described workers exposed to asbestos (mean exposure 23 years in one cited study) and a laboratory study of chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos compared with crystalline silica, titanium dioxide and wollastonite.
• Main results:
  • In a cited study (Sprince et al.) of asbestos-exposed workers, lung lavage fluid showed an increased percentage of CD8 positive cells, accompanied by a decrease in CD8 positive cells in peripheral blood.
  • The same cited study found that an increase in the CD4/CD8 ratio in lung lavage fluid was associated with pleural thickening.
  • A second cited study identified a subgroup of asbestos-exposed workers with T cell alveolitis detectable by flow cytometry. They had no present excess of asbestos related disease, but it was suggested they may be at risk of future disease.
  • In a cited laboratory study (Holian et al.), chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos and crystalline silica induced an inducer or immune activator phenotype (RFD1+) in alveolar macrophages. Titanium dioxide and wollastonite did not.
  • Flow cytometry had also been used in a cited study to characterise the chromosomal state of tumours associated with malignant mesothelioma.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that flow cytometry had provided very useful information in mechanistic studies, but was of limited use in diagnosing occupational disease at present.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author noted that the technique (not the review) is costly, because both the equipment and the reagents are expensive.
  • The author noted that some samples must be analysed within a few hours of collection, which can make workplace studies problematic.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Lung Disease.

Related studies

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• DNA analysis by flow cytometry in malignant pleural mesothelioma: relationship to histology and survival — H. Dazzi, N. Thatcher, et al. (1990)
• Rapid screening of possible cytotoxic effects of particulate air pollutants by measurement of changes in cytoplasmic free calcium, cytosolic pH, and plasma membrane potential in alveolar macrophages by flow cytometry — A. Tárnok, M. Dörger, et al. (2001)
• Flow cytometric analysis of ploidy in immunohistochemically confirmed examples of malignant epithelial mesothelioma — H.F. Frierson, S.E. Mills, et al. (1988)
• Flow cytometric measurement of cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) in ovarian carcinoma effusions — H.P. Dong, A.K. Ree Rosnes, et al. (2011)
• Spectrum of peritoneal mesothelioma in childhood: clinical and histopathologic features, including DNA cytometry — F.K. Niggli, T.J. Gray, et al. (1994)

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