Enzyme activities of lung lavage in asbestosis

Our plain-English summary of Enzyme activities of lung lavage in asbestosis, by R. Bégin, G. Drapeau, R. Boileau, et al (Clinical Biochemistry, 1986).

The study

• Authors: R. Bégin, G. Drapeau, R. Boileau, Y. Vézina, A. Cantin, Y. Desmarais, M. Martel
• Journal: Clinical Biochemistry
• Published: 1986;19(4):240-3
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

We analyzed lung lavage supernatant for amylase, lactate dehydrogenase (LD), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), beta-glucuronidase (beta G), and albumin, and a differential count was made of the cellular component of lung lavage in 18 normal controls and 36 long-term asbestos workers of the mines and mills of Québec. The men were concomitantly evaluated by the usual clinical, radiological, functional parameters and 67Ga lung scan. In 7 workers without asbestosis and normal 67Ga scan, lavage enzyme activities, albumin and cell counts were comparable to those of controls. Of 9 without sufficient criteria for asbestosis but increased 67Ga lung uptake, cell counts documented significant increases in the mean number of macrophages (X 2), lymphocytes (X 2) and neutrophils (X 3). Supernatant analyses showed significant increases in amylase (X 4-5), LD (X 2.5), ALP (X 1.5) and beta G (X 2-4). These changes were comparable to those in the lavage of workers with well established asbestosis except that in the latter, the lymphocyte count was slightly lower but the neutrophil count higher (p less than 0.05). These data document that enzyme activities of lung lavage can differentiate asbestos workers with early or late asbestosis from controls and asbestos workers without disease.

In plain English

This study compared lung lavage (fluid washed from the lungs) of 36 long-term Quebec mine and mill asbestos workers with 18 unexposed manual workers. All 36 asbestos workers had been exposed only to Canadian chrysotile, for an average of 33 years. The authors measured four enzymes (amylase, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase) as ratios to albumin, and counted lavage cells. Group A was 7 workers with no sign of asbestos-related lung damage. Group B was 10 workers without asbestosis criteria but with increased gallium-67 lung uptake and a rigid lung pressure-volume curve. Group C was 19 workers meeting asbestosis criteria. Group A's enzyme results did not differ significantly from controls. In groups B and C, the text reported significant increases in mean activity of all enzymes, with some overlap with controls for alkaline phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase. However, Table 2 does not mark group B's values for these two enzymes as significant. Total cell counts in these groups averaged twice control levels. The authors believed the increases were primarily associated with lung inflammation, not exposure alone. They suggested routinely measuring these enzymes in lavage when investigating interstitial lung disease in workers with suspected asbestosis.

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: Cross-sectional comparison of lung lavage (bronchoalveolar lavage) enzyme activities and cell counts in asbestos workers grouped by disease stage versus matched unexposed controls
• Who was studied: 36 long-term asbestos workers aged 42 to 70 (mean 58) from the mines and mills of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, and 18 manual workers without asbestos exposure matched for age, height, sex, smoking and work habits (mean age 57, range 50 to 70). The workers were split into three groups. Group A had 7 workers with no evidence of asbestos-induced lung damage. Group B had 10 workers who did not meet the diagnostic criteria for asbestosis but had enhanced gallium-67 uptake and a rigid pressure-volume curve; alveolitis was found at biopsy in three of three biopsied. Group C had 19 workers who met the diagnostic criteria for asbestosis.
• Exposure: The 36 asbestos workers were exposed to Canadian chrysotile asbestos only, in the mines and mills of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, for an average of 33 years (range 24 to 42). The 18 controls had no asbestos exposure.
• Main results:
  • In asbestos workers without disease (group A), lavage enzyme results did not differ significantly from controls.
  • The text reports significant increases in mean activity for all four enzymes in group B (described as early asbestosis) and group C (late asbestosis). It notes some overlap between individual subjects and normal controls for alkaline phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase only. Table 2, however, does not mark group B's alkaline phosphatase (421 ± 85) or beta-glucuronidase (156 ± 57) values as significant. All four group C values are marked significant.
  • The amylase/albumin ratio (mean plus or minus SD) was 87 ± 33 in controls, 107 ± 18 in group A, 357 ± 107 in group B and 625 ± 104 in group C. The group B and group C values were marked p less than 0.05 vs controls and/or group A.
  • For lactate dehydrogenase and amylase, groups B and C were clearly different from controls and group A.
  • In groups B and C, total lavage cells averaged twice control levels, with significant increases in all cell sub-populations. Mean total cells were 171 ± 24 thousand per mL in controls, 366 ± 102 in group B and 393 ± 72 in group C. Total cells did not differ between groups B and C.
  • Group A lavage cellularity was comparable to controls except for a slight increase in neutrophils.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that the enzyme increases were not simply due to exposure, since none was found in group A. They believed the increases were primarily associated with inflammatory activity in the lung tissue. They considered that these enzymes should be included in routine lung lavage analysis when investigating interstitial lung disease in workers with suspected asbestosis. They said they were investigating the enzymes' usefulness in other diseases.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Macrophage.

Related studies

• Fibronectin and procollagen 3 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage of asbestos-exposed human subjects and sheep — R. Bégin, M. Martel, et al. (1986)
• Assessment of progression of asbestosis in the sheep model by bronchoalveolar lavage and pulmonary function tests — R. Bégin, M. Rola-Pleszczynski, et al. (1983)
• The lung biological activity of American attapulgite — R. Bégin, S. Massé, et al. (1987)
• Asbestosis: assessment by bronchoalveolar lavage and measurement of pulmonary epithelial permeability — A.R. Gellert, J.A. Langford, et al. (1985)
• Biochemical components of bronchoalveolar lavage in early experimental asbestosis of the sheep: phospholipase A2 activity, prostaglandin E2 and proteins — P. Sirois, G. Drapeau, et al. (1983)
• Enhanced lipid peroxidation and lysosomal enzyme activity in the lungs of rats with prolonged pulmonary deposition of crocidolite asbestos — J. Jajte, I. Lao, et al. (1987)

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