Bronchoalveolar lavage in the assessment of cellular response to fiber exposure.

The usefulness of bronchoalveolar lavage for the study of cellular responses to the deposition of fibers was discussed. Sources of variability in the use of bronchoalveolar lavage were considered along with the relevance of bronchoalveolar lavage leukocytes to the leukocyte population of the interstitium and to pathological processes. The use of bronchoalveolar lavage in evaluating the toxic effects of fibers in the lung was also noted. In the discussion of the bronchoalveolar lavage leukocytes from fiber exposed lungs, the numbers and proportions of leukocytes, the mechanisms of recruitment, immunological functions, production of growth factors and cytokines, and injurious effects of bronchoalveolar lavage leukocytes were described. BAL may be used to gain information on the fiber burden or asbestos (1332214) body burden in the bronchoalveolar space. This information may be useful in evaluating exposure, although it does not include the interstitial component of the dust, which could be the most important part. Also considered was the relevance of bronchoalveolar lavage to the assessment of fiber related lung disease.