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Scoliosis deformity has been linked with deleterious changes in the thoracic cavity that affect pulmonary function. The causal relationship between spinal deformity and pulmonary function has yet to be fully defined. It has been hypothesized that deformity correction improves pulmonary function by restoring both respiratory muscle efficiency and increasing the space available to the lungs. This research aims to correlate pulmonary function and thoracic volume before and after scoliosis correction. Retrospective correlational analysis between thoracic volume modeling from plain x-rays and pulmonary function tests was conducted. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients enrolled in a multicenter database were sorted by pre-operative Total Lung Capacities (TLC) % predicted values from their Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT). Ten patients with the best and ten patients with the worst TLC values were included. Modeled thoracic volume and TLC values were compared before and 2 years after surgery. Scoliosis correction resulted in an increase in the thoracic volume for patients with the worst initial TLCs (11.7%) and those with the best initial TLCs (12.5%). The adolescents with the most severe pulmonary restriction prior to surgery strongly correlated with post-operative change in total lung capacity and thoracic volume (r2 = 0.839; p

BACKGROUND: Objective measures of adherence to high-frequency chest wall compression (HFCWC), a form of airway clearance therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis, are lacking. We used a novel electronic monitoring device integrated into an HFCWC vest to measure adherence compared with self-reported adherence. We determined factors that influenced adherence and how adherence correlated with baseline pulmonary function and pulmonary exacerbations. METHODS: Data were collected by direct measurement of date, time of day, and duration of HFCWC use to determine the number of daily treatments and daily duration of treatments. Chart review provided prescribed airway clearance therapy treatment and demographic and clinical information. Subject and caregiver report of the daily number of airway clearance therapy treatments was obtained by telephone interviews. Analysis used 2-sample and paired t test, analysis of variance, and linear regression. RESULTS: Average adherence was 69%. Adherence was highest in children (82%, P = .02) and those receiving assistance with treatment (82%, P < .001). Subjects overestimated therapy duration from a mean ± SD of 127 ± 169% by adults to 19.2 ± 26.3% by parents or guardians of children. Average adherence decreased with increasing prescribed therapy time (P = .02). Average daily therapy time and adherence had significant positive associations with baseline FEV(1) percent of predicted (P = .02 and P = .02, respectively) and negative associations with pulmonary exacerbations during the pre-study period and at baseline (P = .044 and P = .02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Greater adherence to HFCWC measured directly by a novel recorder was associated with better baseline pulmonary function and fewer exacerbations in the pre-study and baseline period. Adherence decreased with age and prescribed therapy time and increased with therapy assistance. Self-report overestimation is large and thus not an accurate measure of adherence.

Rationale: Recent literature suggests vitamin D has an effect on lung function and on the lung’s ability to fight infection, both important in the cystic fibrosis (CF) population as predictors of morbidity and mortality. Objectives: Our study assessed associations between vitamin D and % predicted lung function, pulmonary exacerbations, and first Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in children with CF. We hypothesized that children with CF who have 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD) levels less than 30 μg/L would have lower % predicted lung function and more pulmonary exacerbations than those with 25-OHD greater than or equal to 30 μg/L. Methods: This retrospective longitudinal study of 130 children aged 6 to 18 years between 2000 and 2012 examined 25-OHD levels classed in three vitamin D groups: sufficient (≥30 μg/L), insufficient (20–29 μg/L), and deficient (

Cystic fibrosis related diabetes (CFRD) is characterized by progressive insulin insufficiency. It is extraordinarily prevalent in the cystic fibrosis (CF) population, occurring in 15–20% of adolescents and, eventually, more than half of adults (1). Few of the remaining patients have completely normal glucose metabolism; even those with normal fasting and 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) glucose levels typically have mid-OGTT glucose elevation and have defective acute insulin secretion in response to intravenous glucose (2). While CFRD does not usually develop before puberty, it has its roots in childhood and glucose intolerance is common in 6–9 year old children with CF (3). It has not been studied in younger children, but ferret models of CF demonstrate insulin secretory abnormalities in the newborn period (4), suggesting that there may be an intrinsic defect in beta-cell function in CF. CF is caused by abnormalities in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), an ATP-binding cassette transporter-class ion channel involved in chloride, sodium and water transport and absorption across cell membranes. CFTR defects lead to thick, viscous secretions with well-known chronic complications including obstructive lung disease associated with infection and inflammation, sinusitis, intestinal obstruction, liver disease and infertility. Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency develops as plugged ductules prevent digestive enzymes from reaching the gut; autodigestion of the pancreas by these trapped enzymes leads to fibrosis. It has long been debated whether insulin insufficiency in CF is merely a physical, “by-stander” consequence of this fibrotic destruction of the pancreatic architecture, or if CFTR defects per se impact insulin secretion (5). CFTR is expressed in human and mouse pancreatic alpha- and beta-cells (6; 7), but it is not known whether it is involved in hormone secretion. There has previously been no way to directly test this in a human model. Ivacaftor (VX-770, Kalydeco™, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA) is the first of a group of “potentiator” molecules being developed to correct the CFTR defect. CFTR is made in the endoplasmic reticulum, processed in the Golgi apparatus, and secreted in vesicles which chaperone proteins carry to the cell membrane, where it must be inserted and then must function normally. Defects leading to CF may occur at any of these steps. In patients with the G551D mutation (about 4% of the CF population), CFTR is found in the cell membrane but is dysfunctional. Ivacaftor corrects this defect by restoring channel gating, through an as-yet unidentified mechanism (8). In clinical Phase 2 and 3 trials, ivacaftor produced dramatic improvements in skin sweat chloride levels and in lung function within just 3 weeks (9; 10), and the drug has recently been approved by the FDA in children down to age 6. The initiation of ivacaftor therapy offers a unique opportunity to test the role of CFTR in human insulin secretion, potentially opening the way for novel diabetes therapies and for prevention or at least amelioration of diabetes in CF.

Background A standard definition of pulmonary exacerbation based on signs and symptoms would be useful for categorizing cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and as an outcome measure of therapy. The frequently used definition of treatment with intravenous antibiotics varies with practice patterns. One approach to this problem is to use large data sets which include a patient’s signs and symptoms along with their clinician’s decision to treat with antibiotics for the diagnosis of pulmonary exacerbation. Previous analysis of such a data set, the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis (ESCF), found that new crackles, increased cough, increased sputum, and weight decline were the four clinical characteristics most strongly influencing providers to treat young CF patients for a pulmonary exacerbation. The objectives of this study were to confirm that these four characteristics influence the decision to treat with antibiotics for a pulmonary exacerbation in young CF patients; to evaluate their implications for future nutritional status and lung function; and to assess the effect of antibiotic treatment on these characteristic signs and symptoms.

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) experience frequent pulmonary exacerbations (PExs). Clinicians manage these episodes of worsening signs and symptoms in a variety of ways.To characterize the antibiotic management and associated change in lung function following PExs.We used 2003-2005 data from the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis to examine antibiotic treatment and the immediate and long-term lung function change associated with clinician reported PExs.A total of 45,374 PExs were reported in 13,194 unique patients. Most PExs (73%) were treated with oral antibiotics, while 39% were treated IV and 24% were treated with inhaled antibiotics. The likelihood of non-IV versus IV antibiotic treatment was associated with the patient's age, stage of lung disease, and magnitude of lung function drop prior to the PEx. Following treatment, the average improvement in the FEV1 was 3.4 ± 12.2% predicted with a greater (5.1 ± 12.7% predicted) improvement following IV antibiotic treatment than with non-IV treatment (2.0 ± 11.6% predicted). When the best FEV1 from the year before was compared with 180 days following the PEx there was an average fall of 3.8 ± 10.5% predicted with little difference observed between antibiotic treatment routes. Patients with only one exacerbation during the 3-year study had a similar loss of lung function to patients with no reported exacerbations.Clinicians treat the majority of PExs with oral antibiotics, particularly in younger, healthier patients. Pulmonary function improves with antibiotic therapy, however, PExs are associated with lung function deterioration over time.

Objectives Rapid and reliable confirmatory sweat testing following a positive newborn screen (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) is preferred to allow for early diagnosis and to decrease parental anxiety. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) recently recommended a quantity not sufficient (QNS) rate of ≤ 10% in infants < 3 months of age referred for quantitative sweat chloride analysis. Two CFF-approved methods are available by which to quantitatively measure chloride concentration in sweat. Our objective was to compare the performance of the Macroduct® sweat collection system (MSCS) with the Gibson and Cooke technique (GCT) in the acquisition of samples for the determination of sweat chloride concentration in infants with a positive Minnesota State NBS for cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is characterized by structural changes in the airways and parenchyma. No sputum biomarker exists to measure the degree of active structural destruction during pulmonary exacerbation in patients with CF. The noninvasive measurement of desmosine, a breakdown product of elastin, may reflect ongoing lung injury and serve as a biomarker of short-term damage. Our objectives were to measure desmosine in the sputum of patients with CF hospitalized for treatment of a pulmonary exacerbation and to explore the correlation between desmosine levels and other markers of clinical improvement, including lung function and inflammatory mediators, following hospitalization.Sputum and blood samples collected and lung function measurements were made at multiple time points during hospitalization. We used a repeated measures model, adjusted for age and time between measurements, to compare log-transformed sputum desmosine levels across multiple time points and to correlate those levels with related variables.Desmosine levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 71 expectorated sputum samples from 19 patients with CF hospitalized for 26 pulmonary exacerbations (range of results, 0 to 200 pmol/L desmosine/mL). Sputum desmosine levels decreased significantly during the first week of hospitalization (p = 0.04). Desmosine levels were positively associated with plasma C-reactive protein (rho = 0.59; p = 0.03), sputum interleukin-8 (rho = 0.86; p0.01), and sputum neutrophil elastase (rho = 0.78; p0.01).Sputum desmosine, a novel measure of acute structural lung injury, may serve as a marker of structural lung damage occurring during exacerbations of lung disease in CF.

Ivacaftor has been shown to be a safe, effective treatment for cystic fibrosis in patients aged 6 years or older with a CFTR gating mutation. We aimed to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ivacaftor in children aged 2-5 years.In the two-part KIWI study, we enrolled children aged 2-5 years weighing 8 kg or more with a confirmed diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and a CFTR gating mutation on at least one allele from 15 hospitals in the USA, UK, and Canada. Participants received oral ivacaftor 50 mg (if bodyweight14 kg) or 75 mg (if bodyweight ≥14 kg) every 12 h for 4 days in part A (to establish the short-term safety of doses for subsequent assessment in part B), and then for 24 weeks in part B (to assess safety and longer-term pharmacodynamics). Children could participate in both or just one part of the study. Primary outcomes were pharmacokinetics and safety, analysed in all patients who received at least one dose of ivacaftor. Secondary outcomes were absolute change from baseline in sweat chloride concentrations and bodyweight, body-mass index (BMI), and height Z scores, and pharmacokinetic parameter estimation of ivacaftor. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01705145.Between Jan 8, 2013, and March 1, 2013, nine patients were enrolled onto part A of the study, all of whom completed the 4 day treatment period, and eight of whom took part in part B. Between June 28, 2013, and Sept 26, 2013, 34 patients were enrolled in part B, 33 of whom completed the 24 week treatment period. All patients received at least one dose of ivacaftor. Results of ivacaftor pharmacokinetics suggested that exposure was similar to that reported in adults (median Cmin were 536 ng/mL for the 50 mg dose; 580 ng/mL for the 75 mg dose; median ivacaftor AUC values were 9840 ng × h/mL and 10 200 ng × h/mL, respectively). Common adverse events in part B included cough (in 19 [56%] of 34 patients) and vomiting (in ten [29%]). Five (15%) patients had liver function test (LFT) results that were more than eight times higher than the upper limit of normal, four of whom had study drug interrupted, and one of whom had study drug discontinued. Six (18%) of 34 patients had seven serious adverse events; a raised concentration of transaminases was the only serious adverse event regarded as related to ivacaftor and the only adverse event that resulted in study treatment discontinuation. At week 24, in patients for whom we had data, sweat chloride had changed from baseline by a mean of -46·9 mmol/L (SD 26·2, p0·0001), weight Z score by 0·2 (0·3; p0·0001), BMI Z score by 0·4 (0·4, p0·0001), and height Z score by -0·01 (0·3; p=0·84).Ivacaftor at doses of 50 mg and 75 mg seems to be safe in children aged 2-5 years with cystic fibrosis with a gating mutation followed up for 24 weeks, although the frequency of elevated LFTs suggests that monitoring should be frequent in young children, particularly those with a history of elevated LFTs. Results of an ongoing extension study assessing durability of these effects and longer-term safety are warranted.Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.

Patients with inherited metabolic storage disorders are at a higher risk of developing pulmonary complications after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). This single-center prospective study of 48 consecutive inherited metabolic storage disorder patients was performed to identify risk factors for the development of pulmonary complications after HCT. Before HCT, subjects underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) for cell count, culture, nitrite levels, and analysis of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. The overall incidence of pulmonary complications was 52% (infectious, 23%; noninfectious, 29%) over a period of 4 years. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage was the most frequent noninfectious complication and occurred in 19% of patients, all of whom had a diagnosis of mucopolysaccharidosis (Hurler and Maroteaux-Lamy syndromes). Levels of interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha, macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in BAL fluid samples obtained before HCT were higher in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses than in patients with leukodystrophies. In addition, levels of IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor were increased in the BAL fluid of patients who developed noninfectious pulmonary complications compared with those who did not develop pulmonary complications. It is interesting to note that most noninfectious pulmonary complications occurred in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses, especially diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, which occurred exclusively in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses. Higher levels of bronchial proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines may be predictive of the development of subsequent posttransplantation noninfectious complications in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses, especially those with Hurler syndrome. Larger studies will be required to further elucidate etiologic mechanisms and predictive factors.

Investigators participating in the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis project began to collect microbiological, pulmonary, and nutritional data on cystic fibrosis (CF) patients at 180 North American sites in 1994. Part of this study was a survey undertaken in August 1995 to determine microbiology laboratory practices with regard to pulmonary specimens from CF patients. The survey included a section on test ordering, completed by a site clinician, and a section on test performance and reporting, completed by each site’s clinical microbiology laboratory staff. Seventy-nine percent of the surveys were returned. There was intersite consistency of microbiology laboratory practices in most cases. The majority of sites follow most of the CF Foundation consensus conference recommendations. There were differences in the frequency at which specimens for culture were obtained, in the use of selective media for Staphylococcus aureus and Haemophilus influenzae , and in the use of a prolonged incubation for Burkholderia cepacia . These variations in practice contribute to prevalence differences among sites and may result in differences in clinical care.

would not be large; only 20%–30% of cases of AOM in the United States are associated with middle ear specimens that grow S. pneumoniae on culture [2]. Approximately 70% of children with S. pneumoniae–related AOM had S. pneumoniae serotypes contained in or closely related to serotypes contained in PCV7 [3]. At best, then, we expected an overall risk reduction of ∼20% for AOM among US children who completed the PCV7 vaccination course. Among 37,868 infants randomly assigned to receive either PCV7 or meningococcus type C conjugate vaccine in California, those receiving PCV7 experienced a 7.8% relative risk reduction in clinically diagnosed cases of AOM (95% CI, 5.2%–10.5%), and a 20% relative risk reduction in the placement of ventilatory tubes (95% CI, 3.6%–34.1%) [4]. Investigators in Finland found a 6% relative risk reduction in AOM among 831 infants receiving PCV7, compared with 831 receiving hepatitis B vaccine [5]. The 95% CI for the protective efficacy of the vaccine against AOM in this study was 4% to 16%. This has been interpreted as an indication that vaccine use might actually increase the frequency of AOM. This has some biological plausibility, because the increase in the incidence of AOM attributable to S. pneumoniae serotypes or to other otopathogens not contained in the vaccine might be greater than the decrease in the incidence of AOM attributable to S. pneumoniae serotypes contained in PCV7. Thus, these non-PCV7 serotypes would substitute for the eliminated vaccine strains and produce the same or greater incidence of AOM. More likely, the large 95% CI in the Finnish study was directly due to the small sample size, combined with the modest size of the relative risk reduction for AOM attributable to immunization with PCV7 [5]. In the California study, the large sample size narrowed the 95% CI and showed a 97% probability that the relative risk reduction was 5.2% [4].

Objectives To characterize the onset of persistent signs and symptoms of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease and identify characteristics that predict onset. Study design Patients in the Epidemiologic Study of CF who were

A standard definition of pulmonary exacerbation based on signs and symptoms would be useful for categorizing cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and as an outcome measure of therapy. The frequently used definition of treatment with intravenous antibiotics varies with practice patterns. One approach to this problem is to use large data sets which include a patient's signs and symptoms along with their clinician's decision to treat with antibiotics for the diagnosis of pulmonary exacerbation. Previous analysis of such a data set, the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis (ESCF), found that new crackles, increased cough, increased sputum, and weight decline were the four clinical characteristics most strongly influencing providers to treat young CF patients for a pulmonary exacerbation. The objectives of this study were to confirm that these four characteristics influence the decision to treat with antibiotics for a pulmonary exacerbation in young CF patients; to evaluate their implications for future nutritional status and lung function; and to assess the effect of antibiotic treatment on these characteristic signs and symptoms.This was an observational, longitudinal cohort study of clinical care in children6 years old cared for at sites participating in ESCF.Using data from children not included in the previous ESCF study, we confirmed that these four characteristics were significantly associated with the likelihood of physicians prescribing antibiotics to treat a pulmonary exacerbation. The number of these characteristics present at a single clinic visit before age 6 predicted hospitalization rate over the next year, the weight-for-age z-score, and the forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) percent predicted at age 7. Treatment with antibiotics was associated with a greater decrease in the proportion of children with crackles, cough, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at a follow-up visit within 6 months.New crackles, increased cough, increased sputum, and decline in weight percentile at a single clinic visit increase the risk of future malnutrition, hospitalization, and airflow obstruction in young children with CF. Treatment with antibiotics mitigates some of these signs and symptoms by the first follow-up visit. The presence of these four characteristic signs and symptoms is useful to define pulmonary exacerbations in young children with CF that respond to antibiotic treatment in the short-term and influence long-term prognosis.

BackgroundThe goal of this study was to determine the association of multiple antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MARPA) acquisition with lung function decline in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).MethodsUsing data from Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis (ESCF), we identified patients with spirometry data and MARPA, defined as PA (1) resistant to gentamicin and either tobramycin or amikacin, and (2) resistant to ≥1 antipseudomonal beta lactam. MARPA had to be detected in a respiratory culture after ≥2years of PA-positive but MARPA-negative respiratory cultures. Multivariable piecewise linear regression was performed to model the annual rate of decline in forced expiratory volume in 1second (FEV1) % predicted 2 calendar years before and after the index year of MARPA detection, adjusting for patient characteristics and CF therapies.ResultsIn total, 4349 patients with chronic PA and adequate PFT data were identified; 1111 subsequently developed MARPA, while 3238 patients were PA positive but MARPA negative. Compared with patients who did not acquire MARPA, MARPA-positive patients had lower FEV1 and received more oral (p

Ode KL, Frohnert B, Laguna T, Phillips J, Holme B, Regelmann W, Thomas W, Moran A. Oral glucose tolerance testing in children with cystic fibrosis. Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) related diabetes is the most common comorbidity in persons with CF. International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) guidelines recommend annual oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) screening starting at age 10. The OGTT might be recommended in younger children if, as in adults, it provided clinically relevant prognostic information. A database review was performed to determine whether OGTT findings in children with CF predict subsequent clinical course. Methods: A retrospective matched-pair cohort study was based on OGTTs performed during 1998–2003. Children aged 6–9 were classified as having normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT). Children with AGT were matched by age and gender to those with NGT. Clinical status was assessed at baseline and 5 yr later. In a separate investigation, diabetes and prior AGT status of children aged 10–18 were used to assess predictions derived from the cohort study. Results: In 1998–2003, 39 of 94 children had AGT. Of these, 31 had sufficient follow-up data to be included. Both at baseline and 5 yr later there was no significant difference in height, weight, body mass index (BMI) or lung function between AGT and NGT. Diabetes developed in 13 AGT (42%) and one NGT (3%) [odds ratio (OR) 11, p = 0.0009]. Age of diabetes onset was 12 ± 1 yr in boys and 11 ± 1 yr in girls, compared to approximately 23 yr in the general CF population. Fifteen current children age 10–18 who had AGT before age 10 have diabetes, close to the prediction of 19. Conclusions: AGT in children with CF age 6–9 yr identifies those at high risk for progression to early onset diabetes.

The susceptibility of paired mucoid and nonmucoid variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from 13 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) to killing by a 55,000-Da bactericidal protein (BP55) from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes was studied. Mucoid and nonmucoid variants were equally sensitive to killing by BP55 at both pH 5.6 and pH 7.2. Eleven of the isolates were resistant to the bactericidal activity of 10% normal human serum but were as sensitive as the serum-sensitive isolates to BP55. Similarly, the 15 isolates with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) containing O-polysaccharide side chains (smooth LPS) were as sensitive to BP55 as those isolates with rough LPS.P. aeruginosa isolates from patients in poor clinical condition were more likely to have LPS of the smooth type and to be resistant to killing by 10% human serum than the isolates from patients in good clinical condition. We have concluded that the susceptibility of the P. aeruginosa isolates from patients with CF to killing by BP55 does not correlate with mucoid or nonmucoid variations, with the presence or absence of smooth LPS, or with the sensitivity or resistance to killing by normal human serum.

Suitability of techniques of P. aeruginosa DNA fingerprinting to determine risk of acquisition in cystic fibrosis. † 1829

In contrast to results with bacterial suspensions, phagocytosis of unopsonized bacteria readily occurs when bacteria are adhered to glass or plastic surfaces. However, in contrast to neutrophils, alveolar macrophages produced much less DNA denaturation as measured by acridine orange metachromasia of phagocytized Staphylococcus aureus. We have studied the phagocytosis of unopsonized surface-adherent S. aureus and the subsequent production of reactive oxygen species by peripheral blood neutrophils, monocytes, and alveolar macrophages. Phagocyte-free systems were then used to show the relationship of the reactive oxygen species produced by neutrophils and alveolar macrophages and the denaturation of unopsonized S. aureus DNA with acridine orange. Peripheral blood neutrophils, monocytes, and alveolar macrophages from normal human volunteers were added to vials with adherent S. aureus without opsonin. Bacterial uptake and luminol- and lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence were measured. Neutrophils developed much greater luminol-dependent chemiluminescence than monocytes or alveolar macrophages. Compared with neutrophils and monocytes, alveolar macrophages developed significantly greater concentrations of superoxide, as measured by lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence and ferricytochrome c reduction. These findings suggested that products of the myeloperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide-halide pathway were generated when peripheral blood neutrophils were stimulated and that alveolar macrophages primarily produced superoxide. When these reactive oxygen species were generated in phagocyte-free systems containing S. aureus, products of the myeloperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide-halide pathway produced denaturation of S. aureus DNA, whereas superoxide did not. Thus, differences in reactive oxygen species produced during phagocytosis may be related to the different capacities of neutrophils and alveolar macrophages to denature unopsonized adherent S. aureus DNA.

We examined the chemiluminescence response of peripheral blood monocytes from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and their asymptomatic parental carriers of the CF gene to three different types of stimulation. We found that monocytes from both patients and carriers have increased luminol-dependent chemiluminescence in the first 25 min after stimulation by adherence to glass. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that monocytes from both CF heterozygotes and homozygotes respond to adhesion with increased oxygen radical formation. The increased adherence-induced monocyte chemiluminescence of the parental carriers did not vary with age or length of exposure of the parents to a child with CF. Also, repeated exposure to medications and respiratory secretions of CF patients was not associated with an increase in adherence-induced monocyte chemiluminescence of their nonbiologically related caretakers. Thus, this observed increase in chemiluminescence is not simply secondary to the medications or respiratory dysfunction seen in the patients with CF. Patients with other types of obstructive lung disease did not show increased adherence-induced monocyte chemiluminescence. We conclude that increased early phase adherence-induced monocyte chemiluminescence occurs in patients with cystic fibrosis and the obligate carriers of the CF gene independent of environmental influences.

The interaction of Staphylococcus epidermidis slime with human neutrophils (PMN) was examined by using isolated slime and allowing bacteria to elaborate slime and other extracellular products in situ. S. epidermidis slime was found to contain a chemoattractant. Incubation of PMN with 50 micrograms or more of slime per ml inhibited subsequent chemotaxis of the PMN to n-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine by 27% and to zymosan-activated serum by 44 to 67% with increasing slime concentrations. S. epidermidis slime stimulated little degranulation of untreated PMN. After pretreatment of PMN with 5 micrograms of cytochalasin b per ml, slime predominantly induced release of specific granule contents (33.8% lactoferrin release by 250 micrograms of slime per ml versus 10% myeloperoxidase release by 250 micrograms of slime per ml). By a surface phagocytosis assay, PMN uptake of radiolabeled S. epidermidis which were incubated for 18 h on a plastic surface for slime expression was less than that for S. epidermidis adhered to the plastic for 2 h or grown in unsupplemented nutrient broth. These results suggest that S. epidermidis slime interaction with PMN may be potentially detrimental to host defense and may contribute to the ability of this organism to persist on surfaces of foreign bodies in the vascular or central nervous system.

Many Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epi) strains isolated from patients with catheter related infections produce an extracellular "slime". This slime probably mediates adhesion of this bacterium to plastic, inhibits the lymphoproliferative response to polyclonal activators and may prevent serum opsonins or polymorphonuclear phagocytes from functioning normally. To examine its effects on opsonization, increasing amounts of staphylococcal slime were added to pooled human serum (PHS), radiolabeled S. epi (2 strains) or E. coli (ON2), and incubated in this mixture for 15 min/37°. The washed bacteria were incubated in fluid phase with PMN's for varying times and the percent of cell associated bacteria determined. Slime decreased the percent of cell associated S. epi and E. coli in a dose dependent manner and killing of E. coli was markedly decreased. To examine its effects on phagocyte function, slime was added in increasing amounts to PMN's to which radiolabeled S. epi and E. coli preopsonized in PHS alone were then added. Slime interfered in a dose dependent manner with PMN uptake of preopsonized S. epidermidis but did not alter PMN uptake nor killing of preopsonized E. coli. We conclude that slime 1) interferes with opsonization of both S. epi and E. coli and 2) that it interferes with PMN phagocytosis of preopsonized S. epi but not preopsonized E. coli. These findings may relate to the persistence of S. epi catheter associated infections.

The role of anti-neutrophil antibodies was investigated as a cause of functional abnormalities of circulating neutrophils in a child with persistent neutropenia and recurrent mouth sores. The patient's neutrophils were isolated by isopycnic centrifugation and compared with normal adult neutrophils. Functional abnormalities in the patient's PMNS included (1) decreased chemotaxis studied by under agarose method and by skin window, (2) decreased oxidative burst measured by luminol amplified chemi luminescence, and (3) decreased superoxide production measured by cytochrome C reduction assay. The ability of the patient's serum to bind normal neutrophils was determined by immunofluorescence. While the patient's serum bound normal PMNs, this binding did not interfere with their oxidative burst. In contrast, the patient's serum did not bind to his own PMNs in vitro even though his neutrophil specific antibody was anti-NAI and his PMNs were NAI positive. Therefore, the functional abnormalities of this patient's PMNs were not due to neutrophil antibody binding alone, but due to a subpopulation of dysfunctional neutrophils in circulation possibly selected out by their low affinity to the circulating autoantibodies.

Decreased peripheral blood lymphoproliferative response due to dysfunctional non-T lymphocytes and the presence of unusual antigenie structures on peripheral blood non-T cells are among the alterations in the immune system found in patients with rheumatic cardiac valvular disease. The present study examined natural killer cell activity and generation of cytotoxic lymphocytes after exposure to bklastogen A in patients with RHD and age- and socioeconomic-matched controls with recurrent tonsillitis but no rheumatic history, signs or symptoms. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) were obtained by isopycnic centrifugation. Fresh PBMNC were incubated with 4 concentrations of K562 erythroleukemia cell targets. Rates of target cell lysis were measured by assay of lactate dehydrogenase using a spectrophotometric assay. Natural cytotoxic activity of freshly isolated PBMNC did not differ between RHD and controls. However, the PBMNC from RHD showed significantly less cytotoxicity after they were cultured alone in media for 6 days. In marked contrast, when cultured for 6 days in the presence of streptococcal blastogen A, PBMNCs from RHD showed greater rates of target cell lysis than controls at all target cell concentrations (P