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Using Bronchoalveolar Lavage to Evaluate Changes in Pulmonary Diseases

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Molecular Toxicology Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2102))

Abstract

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a procedure that can be used to collect samples from human and animal lungs to efficiently evaluate the immune response and the potentially pathological changes by examining both the compositions of cells and fluid from lavage. There are observable changes including inflammatory response in human and animal lungs exposed to environmental exposures such as toxic chemicals and microorganisms, or under pathophysiological conditions in respiratory system. The profile of inflammatory cells in BAL provides a qualitative description of inflammatory response, and the secretion in BAL fluid contains secreted proteins of inflammatory mediators and albumin as a quantitative measurement of inflammation and tissue injury in the lungs. Mouse is the most common model system being used for pulmonary disease-related research. A consistent experimental approach on how to lavage mouse lungs and collect samples from mouse lungs is important for a reproducible evaluation of pathological and physiological changes in mouse lung especially for the analysis of inflammation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Marissa E. Di, Dandan Yang & Y. Peter Di

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  1. Marissa E. Di
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  2. Dandan Yang
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  3. Y. Peter Di
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Correspondence to Y. Peter Di .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Phouthone Keohavong

  2. Department of Environmental Toxicology, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Kamaleshwar P. Singh

  3. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Weimin Gao

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Di, M.E., Yang, D., Di, Y.P. (2020). Using Bronchoalveolar Lavage to Evaluate Changes in Pulmonary Diseases. In: Keohavong, P., Singh, K., Gao, W. (eds) Molecular Toxicology Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2102. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0223-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0223-2_5

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