Abstract
The concentration of hyaluronan was measured in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of 18 control subjects and 27 workers from the asbestos mills and mines of Québec, 9 without asbestosis and 18 with asbestosis. Hyaluronan was also measured in the BALF of 9 control sheep exposed to 100 ml phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 10 day intervals for 39 months, and 13 sheep exposed at the same intervals to 100 mg chrysotile in 100 ml PBS for 24 months. At month 24, the asbestos-exposed sheep were classified into 3 groups: (A) 4 sheep exposed to PBS alone, (B) 4 sheep exposed to 10 mg chrysotile asbestos every 10 days, and (C) 5 sheep exposed to 100 mg chrysotile asbestos every 10 days for 15 months. The BALF hyaluronan averaged 53.9 ± 7.4 ng/ml in human controls, 67.5 ± 10.3 ng/ml in asbestos-exposed workers without asbestosis, and 206 ± 83 ng/ml in workers with asbestosis (p < 0.05 vs. normal). In the control sheep, BALF hyaluronan was 34.7 ± 6.9 ng/ml, and it was 31.5 ± 17.8 ng/ml in the low-dosage asbestos-exposed group (A), 83.0 ± 27.7 ng/ml in the intermediate-dose group (B), and 248.0 ± 134.7 ng/ml in the high-dosage group (C) (p < 0.05 vs. controls). In contrast, the release of plasminogen activator, a protease that may play a role in limiting the fibrotic process, was increased in group A, but not in groups B and C. In conclusion, BALF hyaluronan constitutes an indicator of lung interstitial tissue changes that may reflect the activity of the fibrosing alveolitis associated with chronic asbestos exposure.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson Bray B, Sampson PM, Osman M, Giandomenico A, Turino GM (1991) Early changes in lung tissue hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) and hyaluronidase in bleomycin-induced alveolitis in hamsters. Am Rev Respir Dis 143:284–288
Becklake MR (1976) Asbestos related diseases of the lung and other organs: their epidemiology and implications for clinical practice. Am Rev Respir Dis 114:187–227
Bégin R, Drapeau G, Boileau R, Vézina Y, Cantin A, Desmarais Y, Martel M (1986) Enzyme activities of lung lavage in asbestosis. Clin Biochem 19:240–243
Bégin R, Cantin A, Berthiaume Y, Boileau R, Bisson G, Lamoureux G, Rola-Pleszczynski M, Drapeau G, Massé S, Boctor M, Breault J, Péloquin S, Dalle D (1985) Clinical features to stage alveolitis in asbestos workers. Am J Ind Med 8:521–536
Bégin R, Cantin A, Massé S (1991) Influence of continued asbestos exposure on the outcome of asbestosis in sheep. Exp Lung Res 17:971–984
Bégin R, Rola-Pleszczynski M, Massé S, Nadeau D, Drapeau G (1983) Assessment of progression of asbestosis in the sheep model by bronchoalveolar lavage and pulmonary function tests. Thorax 38:449–457
Bertozzi P, Astedt B, Zenzius L, Lynch K, LeMaire F, Zapol W, Chapman HA (1990) Depressed bronchoalveolar urokinase activity in patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome. N Engl J Med 322:890–897
Bjermer L, Engstrom-Laurent A, Lundgren R, Rosenhall L, Hällgren (1987) Hyaluronate and type III procollagen peptide concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as markers of disease activity in farmer's lung. Br Med J 295:803–806
Bjermer L, Engström-Laurent A, Thunell M, Hällgren R (1987) Hyaluronic acid in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with sarcoidosis. The relationship to lavage mast cells. Thorax 42:933–938
Bjermer L, Lundgren R, Hällgren R (1989) Hyaluronan and type III procollagen peptide concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Thorax 44:126–131
Cantin A, Allard C, Bégin R (1989) Increased plasminogen activator in early asbestosis. Am Rev Respir Dis 139:604–609
Cantin A, Bégin R, Rola-Pleszczynski M, Boileau R (1983) Heterogeneity of bronchoalveolar lavage cellularity in stage III pulmonary sarcoidosis. Chest 83:485–486
Comper WD, Laurent TC (1978) Physiological function of connective tissue polysaccharides. Physiol Rev 58:255–315
Greenwood FC, Hunter WM, Glover JS (1963) The preparation of 131I-labelled human growth hormone of high specific radioactivity. Biochem J 89:114–123
Hällgren R, Eklund A, Engström-Laurent A, Schmekel B (1985) Hyaluronate in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, a new marker in sarcoidosis reflecting pulmonary disease. Br Med J 290:1778–1781
Hunninghake GW, Gadek JE, Kawanami O, Ferrans VJ, Crystal RG (1979) Inflammatory and immune processes in the human lung in health and disease: evaluation by bronchoalveolar lavage. Am J Pathol 97:149–206
Killingsworth LM, Savory J (1972) Manual nephelometric methods for immunochemical determinations of immunoglobulins IgG, IgA and IgM in human serum. Clin Chem 18:335–339
Laurent UBG, Tengblad A (1980) Determination of byaluronate in biological samples by a specific radioassay technique. Anal Biochem 109:386–394
Nettelbladt O, Hällgren R (1989) Hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid during the development of bleomycin-induced alveolitis in the rat. Am Rev Respir Dis 140:1028–1032
Rennard SI, Berg R, Martin GR, Froidart JN, Gehron-Robey P (1980) Enzyme-linked immune assay (ELISA) for connective tissue components. Anal Biochem 104:205–214
Snedecor GW, Cochran WC (1980) Statistical methods, 7th ed. Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA
Task Force on Occupational Respiratory Disease (1979) Asbestosis. Health and Welfare Canada, 35–48
Tengblad A (1979) Affinity chromatography on immobilized hyaluronate binding proteins from cartilage. Biochim Biophys 578:281–289
Wacker W, Ulmer DD, Vallee BL (1956) Metalloenzymes and myocardial infarction: II. Malic and lactic dehydrogenase activities and zinc concentrations in serum. N Engl J Med 225:449–456
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Offprint requests to: A. M. Cantin
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cantin, A.M., Larivée, P., Martel, M. et al. Hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) in lung lavage of asbestos-exposed humans and sheep. Lung 170, 211–220 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174118
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174118