[Analysis of immunocompetent cells in bronchoalveolar lavage in patients with sarcoidosis].

Bronchoalveolar lavage through fiberoptic bronchoscope was performed in the right middle lobe or lingula of 8 patients with clinically and radiologically active sarcoidosis and 5 healthy persons. Pellet cells were analysed. Lymphocyte subsets were detected with monoclonal antibodies by fluorescent microscopy or flow cytometry (EPICS-C, Coulter). In patients with sarcoidosis lymphocyte proportion is elevated (29.88 +/- 4.32) as compared to healthy persons (5.2 +/- 3.4). We detected an increase of CD 3 lymphocytes (86.38 +/- 6.71) and CD 4 helper-inducer T lymphocytes compared to the total number of lymphocytes and, likewise, of the CD 4/CD 8 ratio--5.62 +/- 0.94. CD 8 suppressor-cytotoxic T lymphocytes are decreased (13.0 +/- 1.3 as compared to the healthy persons 22.0 +/- 3.84), which is a relative decrease because due to an increase of the total lymphocyte number, an increase of CD 8 T lymphocytes (3.85 +/- 0.41 as compared to the healthy persons 1.09 +/- 0.59) still exists, compared to the total number of pellet cells.