Background. Microvesicles (MVs) released from almost all cells are recognized as cell communication tools. MVs have been investigated in several inflammatory diseases but poorly in biological fluids like bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of smokers. Aims. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence and source of MVs in BAL of smokers with and without COPD compared to non-smoking controls. Methods and Results. Using flow-cytometry in BAL we detected endothelial and Alveolar Macrophage (AM)-derived MVs, and found a higher number of AM-MVs in the BAL of smokers with COPD than in smokers without COPD and non-smokers, which correlated with the pack-years (r=0.46; p=0.05) and with the degree of airway obstruction measured by the FEV₁ % predicted (r= -0.56; p=0.01). Conclusion. Endothelial and Alveolar Macrophages-derived MVs are present and measurable in human BAL fluid. In response to smoking and to the development of COPD, inflammatory signals in AM-derived MVs can be quantified, and their numbers are related to the pack-years and the decrease in lung function. These results open the opportunity for future investigation of these microvesicles as biomarkers and possible mechanistic guides in COPD.

中文翻译：

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支气管肺泡灌洗液中的微泡可作为COPD的潜在生物标记。

背景。从几乎所有细胞释放的微泡（MV）被认为是细胞通讯工具。在几种炎症性疾病中对MV进行了研究，但在吸烟者的支气管肺泡灌洗（BAL）等生物体液中效果不佳。目的 这项研究的目的是调查与非吸烟对照组相比，有无COPD的吸烟者BAL中MV的存在和来源。方法和结果。在BAL中使用流式细胞仪，我们检测到了内皮和肺泡巨噬细胞（AM）衍生的MV，发现COPD吸烟者的BAL中AM-MV的数量高于无COPD和非吸烟者的吸烟者，这与包装相关年（r = 0.46； p = 0.05），并用FEV ₁测量气道阻塞程度预测的百分比（r ＝ -0.56； p ＝ 0.01）。结论。内皮和肺泡巨噬细胞衍生的MVs存在于人的BAL液中并可测量。响应吸烟和COPD的发展，可以量化AM衍生的MV中的炎症信号，其数量与包装年数和肺功能下降有关。这些结果为将来进一步研究这些微囊泡作为COPD中的生物标志物和可能的机械指南提供了机会。