Quantification of neutrophil migration into the lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Ruparelia, P; Szczepura, K; Summers, C; Solanki, C; Balan, K; Newbold, P; Bilton, D; Peters, A; Chilvers, E

Abstract

Objective: to quantify neutrophil migration into the lungs of patients with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD).
Methods: neutrophil loss via airways was assessed by dedicated whole-body counting 45 min, 24 h and 2, 4, 7 and 10 days after injection of very small activities of 111In-labelled neutrophils in 12 healthy nonsmokers, 5 healthy smokers, 16 patients with COPD (of whom 7 were ex-smokers) and 10 patients with bronchiectasis. Lung accumulation of 99mTc-labelled neutrophils was assessed by sequential SPECT and Patlak analysis in six COPD patients and three healthy nonsmoking subjects.
Results: whole body 111In counts, expressed as percentages of 24 h counts, decreased in all subjects. Losses at 7 days (mean ± SD) were similar in healthy nonsmoking subjects (5.5 ± 1.5%), smoking subjects (6.5 ± 4.4%) and ex-smoking COPD patients (5.8 ± 1.5%). In contrast, currently smoking COPD patients showed higher losses (8.0 ± 3.0%) than healthy nonsmokers (p = 0.03). Two bronchiectatic patients lost 25% and 26%, indicating active disease; mean loss in the remaining eight was 6.9 ± 2.5%. The rate of accumulation of 99mTc-neutrophils in the lungs, determined by sequential SPECT, was increased in COPD patients (0.030–0.073 min−1) compared with healthy nonsmokers (0–0.002 min−1; p = 0.02).
Conclusion: in patients with COPD, sequential SPECT showed increased lung accumulation of 99mTc-labelled neutrophils, while whole-body counting demonstrated subsequent higher losses of 111In-labelled neutrophils in patients who continued to smoke. Sequential SPECT as a means of quantifying neutrophil migration deserves further evaluation.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Jun 8, 2011
• Journal: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• Print ISSN: 1619-7070
• Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 911-919
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-010-1715-7
• Keywords: Neutrophils, granulocytes, COPD, whole-body counting, 111 In-tropolonate, 99mTc HMPAO
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00259-010-1715-7