Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies

Bronchoscopy with bronchial biopsies allows sampling of airway tissue in prospective clinical studies and is increasingly applied for the study of airway inflammation and remodelling. It is important to recognise that there are limitations inherent to the use of bronchial biopsies, including the ina...

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Main Authors: P. G. Woodruff, A. L. Innes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Respiratory Society 2006-12-01
Series:European Respiratory Review
Subjects:
Online Access:http://err.ersjournals.com/cgi/content/full/15/101/157
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author P. G. Woodruff
A. L. Innes
author_facet P. G. Woodruff
A. L. Innes
author_sort P. G. Woodruff
collection DOAJ
description Bronchoscopy with bronchial biopsies allows sampling of airway tissue in prospective clinical studies and is increasingly applied for the study of airway inflammation and remodelling. It is important to recognise that there are limitations inherent to the use of bronchial biopsies, including the inability to randomly sample the airway and susceptibility to the "reference trap". Nonetheless, certain stereological principles can be applied to the analysis of these specimens, which may improve the validity of the results obtained. These principles relate to choice of reference space, adequacy of sampling and treatment of tissue orientation in the estimation of thickness and surface area. With attention to these principles, the present authors have developed protocols for the assessment of multiple measures of airway remodelling in bronchial biopsies, including airway epithelial mucin content, epithelial goblet cell size, reticular basement membrane thickness and smooth muscle morphological outcomes. They have also developed protocols for the enumeration of inflammatory cells important in the study of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including eosinophils and neutrophils. In the present article, relevant stereological principles and the details of these specific protocols will be reviewed.
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spelling doaj.art-566f4ce20c3b431abd9ab2678ea572f12022-12-21T21:49:09ZengEuropean Respiratory SocietyEuropean Respiratory Review0905-91801600-06172006-12-0115101157161Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsiesP. G. WoodruffA. L. InnesBronchoscopy with bronchial biopsies allows sampling of airway tissue in prospective clinical studies and is increasingly applied for the study of airway inflammation and remodelling. It is important to recognise that there are limitations inherent to the use of bronchial biopsies, including the inability to randomly sample the airway and susceptibility to the "reference trap". Nonetheless, certain stereological principles can be applied to the analysis of these specimens, which may improve the validity of the results obtained. These principles relate to choice of reference space, adequacy of sampling and treatment of tissue orientation in the estimation of thickness and surface area. With attention to these principles, the present authors have developed protocols for the assessment of multiple measures of airway remodelling in bronchial biopsies, including airway epithelial mucin content, epithelial goblet cell size, reticular basement membrane thickness and smooth muscle morphological outcomes. They have also developed protocols for the enumeration of inflammatory cells important in the study of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including eosinophils and neutrophils. In the present article, relevant stereological principles and the details of these specific protocols will be reviewed.http://err.ersjournals.com/cgi/content/full/15/101/157Airway remodellingbronchial biopsyinflammationmorphometrystereology
spellingShingle P. G. Woodruff
A. L. Innes
Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies
European Respiratory Review
Airway remodelling
bronchial biopsy
inflammation
morphometry
stereology
title Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies
title_full Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies
title_fullStr Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies
title_full_unstemmed Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies
title_short Quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies
title_sort quantitative morphology using bronchial biopsies
topic Airway remodelling
bronchial biopsy
inflammation
morphometry
stereology
url http://err.ersjournals.com/cgi/content/full/15/101/157
work_keys_str_mv AT pgwoodruff quantitativemorphologyusingbronchialbiopsies
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