Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Vol 151, No. 4, Apr 1995, 1255-1258.
The ciliary transportability of sputum is slow on the mucus-depleted bovine trachea
PJ Wills, MJ Garcia Suarez, A Rutman, R Wilson and PJ Cole
Department of Thoracic Medicine, Royal Brompton National Heart and Lung Institute, London, United Kingdom.
Mucus retention in the lungs is a feature of several chest diseases. It is
unclear to what extent suboptimal mucus transportability is responsible for
the poor clearance of lung secretions. We described a new model, the
mucus-depleted bovine trachea, for measurement of the ciliary
transportability of respiratory mucus. Mucus depletion was demonstrated
microscopically and functionally, and it was accomplished by simple
physical means without impairing ciliary action. Control mucus from the
tracheas of humans and animals was transported rapidly on this system.
However, sputum from 54 patients with bronchiectasis was transported
slowly, at a mean of 15% of the rate of control mucus. There was no
correlation between sputum transportability and either purulence or the
presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This work suggests that there is a
serious defect in the ciliary transportability of sputum that is unrelated
to the presence of infection. The model should allow in vitro assessment of
agents designed to aid mucociliary clearance.
