Chemiluminescence and antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity between human alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood monocytes in smokers, nonsmokers, and lung cancer patients

Abstract

Some evidence suggests a capability of peripheral blood monocytes to destroy tumor cells, while this ability by human alveolar macrophages, the main defense cells in the alveoli, is still debatable. We measured the chemiluminescence and antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity in the PBMs and HAMs of 12 lung cancer patients and 20 healthy subjects; the latter included ten smokers and ten nonsmokers. The PBMs were prepared by using a Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient, then separated by Petri-dish adherence. The HAMs were taken during the bronchoalveolar lavages. The chemiluminescence in the HAMs of smokers was significantly higher than nonsmokers, (p less than 0.05), which did not occur in the PBMs. Chemiluminescence in HAMs from the lung cancer patients was also significantly higher than the smoker control subjects (p less than 0.01). However, the lung cancer patients had significantly lower ADCC activity than the smokers in the control group (4.52 +/- 2.96 vs 8.27 +/- 2.83 percent; p less than 0.05). The chemiluminescence in the PBMs showed no statistical difference between the lung cancer patients and smoker control, but PBMs of the lung cancer patients had significantly lower ADCC activity than the smoker normal control group. The HAMs from lung cancer patients produced more superoxide anion, for an increased chemiluminescence reaction was noted, although ADCC activity was lower than in smokers, ie, HAMs were ineffective in killing tumors. Environmental factors such as cigarette smoking affect HAM's function by causing an increase of superoxide anion production. The chemiluminescence and ADCC activity in the PBMs does not always correspond to the HAMs findings. These results suggest that PBMs can not accurately reflect or predict the HAMs' function in lung diseases.