Comparison of In Vitro Neutrophil Elastase Release in Nonsmokers and Smokers

• DOI: 10.1164/arrd.1983.128.3.507
• Publication Date: 2015-10-05T02:51:48Z
• Authors: Raja T. Abboud; Andrew J. Johnson; Anna M. Richter; Richard K. Elwood
• Keywords: Adult; Lung Diseases; Male; N-Formylmethionine; Pancreatic Elastase; Neutrophils; Respiration; Smoking; Vital Capacity; Zymosan; Forced Expiratory Flow Rates; In Vitro Techniques; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; N-Formylmethionine Leucyl-Phenylalanine; 03 medical and health sciences; Hexosaminidases; 0302 clinical medicine; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; Oligopeptides

Protease-antiprotease imbalance in the lung is considered a likely pathogenetic mechanism in the development of emphysema. To assess whether differences in enzyme release from stimulated neutrophils could be a factor leading to increased elastase release in the lung, we compared the in vitro release of elastase and a lysosomal enzyme, β-glucosaminidase, from neutrophils of nonsmokers and smokers. Neutrophils were stimulated in vitro by zymosan as a phagocytic stimulus, and the synthetic polypeptide, N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenyl-alanine (FMLP) as chemotactic factor. We studied 54 male subjects, 24 nonsmokers (mean age, 39.5 ± SD 14.4 yr) and 30 smokers (mean age, 45.4 ± SD 8.2 yr). Smokers were divided into 2 groups according to results of their lung function, 17 with normal and 13 with abnormal lung function. Smokers with abnormal lung function were older (59.8 ± SD 11.8 yr) and had smoked more (45.6 ± SD 18.2 pack-years) than smokers with normal lung function (mean age, 39.8 ± SD 11.0 yr; smoking, 22...