• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.241-250
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• 2002

Background : Coal-worker's pneumoconiosis(CWP) is characterized by a chronic inflammatory lung reaction associated with macrophage accumulation in the alveolar spaces. CWP is usually divided into two stage : simple pneumoconiosis(SP) where there are a limited number of fibrotic lesions remain limited, with radiological opacities smaller than 1cm and progressive massive fibrosis(PMF), which is characterized by the development of a perifocal extensive fibrotic response of the lung and severe alterations in pulmonary function. In this study, the lymphocyte compartment and cytokine were evaluated by measuring the serum levels in the control, SP and PMF groups. Materials and Methods : The coal workers selected for this study were employees(patients?) of the Tae-Baek and Dong-Hae hospital. All were men, 45-76 years old and the mean duration of their exposure to coal dust was 23.2 years in the lymphocyte compartment and 24.3 years in the cytokine checked group. According to X-ray examination results, the patients were classified into either one of the SP, PMF categories. The normal controls examined were 26-70 years old men. The serum cytokine levels were estimated by using an end point enzyme immunoassay technique. Results : T lymphocyte, helper and suppressor T cells were highly related to pneumoconiosis in this study. A statistically significant decrease in the number of suppressor T lymphocytes was observed in the simple pneumoconiosis patients and at the same time, there was an increase in the lymphocyte index. Howevere, there was no statistically difference in the serum cytokines levels among the SP, PMF and control groups. Conclusion : T lymphocyte, helper T, and suppressor T cells may be highly related to the development of CWP compared to the control group particularly in the early stage of pneumoconiosis. The changes observed in the immunological system in patients with pneumoconiosis may lie at the bottom of the pathogenesis of fibrosis. Further study is needed to evaluate the lymphocyte compartment as a marker for pneumoconiosis development in the early stage.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.196-202
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• 2001

Backgorund: WEHI-231 B cell line is a representative model for $IgM^+$ mature B cells. To understand the signaling differences between mature and immature B cells, we compared the responsiveness of WEHI-231 and Bal 17 B cell lines to BCR cross-linking. Methods: The extents of tyrosine phosphorylation, ligand-induced internalization, and activation-induced cell death upon BCR cross-linking were compared in two cell lines. Results: Despite a higher expression of BCR, cross-linking of BCR on WEHI-231 cell evoked a weaker level of tyrosine phosphorylation and BCR endocytosis than Bal 17 cells. Furthermore, the endocytosed BCR could not enter the lysosomal compartment and stayed as peripheral spots in WEHI-231 cells. Conclusion: WEHI-231 cell showed preferred BCR-mediated signaling pathways leading to a reduced capability of antigen presentation as well as the enhanced apoptosis in comparision with Bal 17 cells. These results might reflect the signaling differences between mature and immature B cells.