Absence of immunoreactive vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in tissue from the lungs of patients with asthma

Article Abstract:

A small polypeptide found in the nerve fibers of normal lung (Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide or VIP) works locally to relax the smooth muscles which control the diameter (bore) of small bronchioles (air passages). (A peptide is any member of a class of compounds which form proteins.) This study examines samples of lung tissue taken by biopsy or autopsy from the lungs of five asthmatics and nine others without asthma for the presence of VIP. The tissues were prepared for light microscopic examination and stained in a procedure that would differentiate the cells which contained VIP. The results indicated that VIP was present in 92 per cent of the sections from lungs of patients without asthma. VIP activity was seen in any of 468 sections which were obtained from the lungs of patients with asthma. The authors conclude that in patients with asthma there is a loss of VIP from the nerve cells of the lungs, and that this, in turn, may lead to decreased dilation of the bronchioles under control of the nervous system. Whether this loss is a cause or a result of asthma remains uncertain.

Physiological aspects, Asthma, Vasoactive intestinal peptides, Lung biopsy

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Lung transplantation

Article Abstract:

Efforts to increase the supply of donor organs and prevent graft rejection will allow more patients with lung diseases to benefit from a lung transplant. The demand for donated lungs continues to exceed the supply. One possible solution is to use organs from animals, a technique called xenotransplantation. Animals could be genetically engineered to eliminate the possibility of graft rejection. Drugs such as sirolimus and leflunomide are effective and less toxic than other immunosuppressive drugs. A bone marrow transplant in addition to the lung transplant may help the patient adapt to the donor's organ.

Health aspects, Organ transplant recipients

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Recurrence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in transplanted lungs

Article Abstract:

Patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma who receive a lung transplant may develop the disease in the donated lung. Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a type of lung cancer that spreads within the lungs but not usually to other organs. Among seven patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma who received a lung transplant, four developed bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in the donated lung within 10 months to four years after the transplant. Many of the patients had surgery before transplantation to remove the original tumor.

Prognosis, Lung cancer, Adenocarcinoma

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